Council passes worker break law

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Update

Austin City Council voted unanimously Thursday afternoon to approve the worker break law, which requires construction workers be allowed a 10-minute rest and water break at minimum every four hours.

Employers who break the law can be fined up to $500.

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Original story

Austin could become one of the only cities in the nation to require rest breaks for construction workers if the City Council passes the ordinance Thursday.

In Austin’s hot summers, construction workers often work long hours in temperatures that near or exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Workers Defense Project said one construction worker died last summer of heat-related causes on a job site after working for three consecutive days in extreme temperatures.

The Workers Defense Project plans a rally at the Austin City Council Plaza at 9 a.m. Thursday before the vote.

The group claims 41 percent of construction workers do not receive rest breaks. That data comes from a recent study on the construction industry by the University of Texas at Austin, Building Austin, Building Injustice: Working Conditions in Austin’s Construction Industry.

“For responsible employers who already provide rest breaks, this ordinance will require their competitors to uphold the same high standards,” said Tom Archer, of the Build a Better Texas Coalition - a group of businesses, churches and community groups working to improve conditions in the construction industry. “For construction workers, it could be the difference between life or death, returning home to their families at the end of the day or facing a debilitating accident.”

In June, Austin City Council unanimously voted to pass a resolution asking the city manager to develop an ordinance requiring adequate rest and access to drinking water for construction workers.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires that employers provide drinking water, but it does not require they provide rest breaks.

Texas does not require rest breaks, although some states have implemented them.