Image Source: JuYochi- stock.adobe.com
As temperatures in Texas soar above 100 degrees, Governor Greg Abbott has just signed a law that will make it illegal for any Texas city to require employers to allow construction workers get water breaks, even in extreme heat. The law nullifies ordinances in Austin and Dallas that require 10-minute breaks every four hours so that construction workers can drink water and protect themselves from the sun.
At least 42 Texas workers died from environmental heat exposure between 2011 and 2021 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest number of any state. Six out of 10 Texas construction workers are Latino.