Despite hysteria, new law doesn’t undermine employee-provided worker protections
HOUSTON (June 28, 2023) – Local leaders and politically motivated labor groups are misleading the public, falsely suggesting that construction workers can no longer take water breaks after the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act was signed into law. With temperatures reaching triple digits, this rhetoric is dangerous.
Two letters to the Houston Chronicle correct the record and are included below:
“There is nothing in the bill that prevents a company from allowing water breaks for its employees. Any company could and should allow employees water breaks, especially in this heat. To not do so, to me, would make the company criminally liable. All the bill does is prevent cities or counties from mandating it.” – Glenn Davis, Rosharon
“Just because the law doesn’t mandate water breaks for outside workers doesn’t mean employers can’t grant them. If bosses want workers to perform well, water breaks are mandatory.” – Patricia Roberts, Bellaire
Background:
Only two Texas cities, Dallas and Austin, have issued water break ordinances. The ordinance in Austin applies only to workers on commercial construction sites, neglecting to address residential construction sites. The ordinance in Dallas has never been enforced.
While addressing a Senate panel in support of the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, Texas Association of Builders’ Ned Muñoz testified to the ineffectiveness of the local ordinances in providing for worker safety, noting they don’t meet the federal government’s high standards for a safe workplace.
He said in part: “We talk about these rest breaks. My understanding is that there are only two cities that have these rest breaks in place. Dallas and Austin. Those rest breaks require 10 minutes of rest breaks for every four hours. If you had a roofer in the middle of the Texas summer working for four hours and only getting a 10-minute break? I guarantee you, OSHA would come down incredibly hard on them because that is not a safe environment.”
Bottom Line: Under the new law, employers in Dallas, Austin, and across the state will continue to offer water and rest breaks for their employees, along with other workplace protections.
