According to The Texas Tribune, the council voted 10-5 to approve the measure and joins Austin as the only other city in the state requiring such heat breaks. Contractors are also required to put up signs on their jobsite explaining the breaks.
The move comes after 25-year-old Roendy Granillo died from a heat stroke while installing hardwood flooring in the city of Melissa. According to his family, Granillo was denied a water break before suffering the stroke, the Tribune reports.
Despite the Tribune‘s report that “heat typically kills several Texas workers every year,” the measure had its opponents among construction industry representatives who argued “the policy could be costly for construction firms and difficult to enforce.”
Opponents argued such measures should be enacted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration rather than a city council.
