Spectrum News: White House, Rep. Casar work for hot-weather worker protections

After another summer of unusually scorching weather, some Texas Democrats say it's time for the government to protect workers toiling in extreme heat. 

One congressman is pushing for national standards to safeguard people who work in extreme heat, even after the state passed a law to block city and county ordinances mandating water breaks for construction workers in sweltering weather.

What You Need To Know

• Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, is pushing for national standards to protect workers laboring outside in high heat, even as his home state works to undercut local labor protections


• A Texas state law that Republican supporters said was intended to cut through patchwork red tape in cities across the state had the effect of cutting down city and county laws mandating water breaks for outdoor workers; however, a state judge ruled the law unconstitutional


• While litigation over the law continues, the Department of Labor is seeking to create nationwide protections for outdoor workers in hot weather

"We know that it's only going to get even hotter in places like Texas. I grew up here. We know it's hot, but it's not usually this hot, it is getting extreme," said Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas. "It's only going to get worse. So we should be providing workers with more protections, not fewer protections."

This comes as a new Texas state law was declared unconstitutional by a state judge for violating local control provisions of the Texas Constitution.

While Republican supporters say it was always about cutting through swaths of legal red tape for small business owners to deal with a patchwork of rules across the state, in practice, the law supersedes ordinances in places like Austin and Dallas that require outdoor workers to be given water breaks in hot weather.

"We know that that law will continue to be appealed," Casar said. "But we will continue to push back because it is not rational."

While litigation over the state law continues, the Biden administration says it is developing the first national rule to protect workers from extreme heat.

"High heat is not just an inconvenience or discomfort when it comes to workers; it can be a health hazard. It can cause and does cause illness and even death," said acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. "So at the Department of Labor, we are committed to adopting the first-ever nationwide heat standard, both for outdoor and indoor work. But until that standard is put in place, we know that workers need relief and they need action right away."

It could be years before any new heat rule takes effect. However, Su says the administration is also taking action by stepping up heat-related investigations and workplace inspections.

"We want to be very clear that the federal law provides a floor: Every employer has a general duty to keep their workers safe and healthy to establish a safe and healthy work environment. That includes Texas," Su said. "And so we want to, we're going to be doing enforcement in all states to make sure that workers are not having to suffer the worst effects of our heat." 

Su says the agency is currently engaging with small businesses to learn how they would be affected by federal heat rules as scorching temperatures continue across the country.