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NFIB Texas corrects the record on new law in conversation with Chad Hasty
LUBBOCK (June 30, 2023) – “This legislation [the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act] does not prohibit whatsoever, rest and water breaks. And it will not have any negative effect on the construction industry’s practice of allowing rest and water breaks to workers as needed,” NFIB State Director Annie Spilman said while discussing the misleading hysteria on the bill with Chad Hasty. “No employer wants their employees to be injured, or sick, or unsafe. It’s not humane, and it’s not good for business.”
CLICK HERE to listen to the full interview. Excerpts are below.
Employers will continue to provide rest and water breaks for their employees. Only two Texas cities have rest break ordinances on the books, and they do not meet the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) high standard for a safe workplace, Spilman said:
“These employers have the right and have had the right to provide safe work environments, to provide breaks. Members of the media and labor unions are saying this bill will repeal the ‘right’ to rest and water breaks. There are only two Texas cities, Dallas and Austin, that even have a mandate relating to this. It requires a 10-minute break every four hours – which is very subpar and below the standard of OSHA requirements.”
READ: Opinion: Employers Will Continue Providing Water Breaks, Workplace Protections for Employees
It is in business owners’ interest to continue taking care of their employees.
“These employers want to stay open. What do you do to stay open? You operate a safe business, you’re going to take care of your employees, and you’re going to take care of your customers. We don’t need the government telling a small business how they need to be running their business.”
Cities retain their local control to address residents’ needs under the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act.
“[The Texas Regulatory Consistency Act] is going to help all citizens. What it does is it states, if the state has already regulated on a certain topic, then local governments cannot adopt their own additional regulations on this topic. This is going to really force our local governments to think first, analyze the cost and compliance nature, and the effect on their communities before they pass local laws and regulations.”
Regulatory consistency is good for small business owners and the Texans they employ.
“Small businesses are still struggling and they’re doing the best they can to comply with regulations coming from local, state, and federal government. When they duplicate those regulatory efforts, the only thing it’s going to do is shut down our small businesses. Guess what happens? People lose their jobs. […] When a small business is doing well – the less time they have to spend looking over their shoulder to see if the government is coming after them, and the more money they have in tax savings or savings in terms of regulatory costs, that’s money they can put back into their businesses. Back into their employees in the form of benefits and wages and health insurance. And that’s savings and money that goes directly back into their local economy.”
CLICK HERE to listen to the full interview.
Background:
Only two Texas cities, Dallas and Austin, have issued water break ordinances. There has been no significant enforcement of either ordinance, and the Austin ordinance applies only to workers on commercial construction sites.
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.
WATCH: Expert on City-Sanctioned Rest Breaks: ‘That’s 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.
About NFIB:
For 80 years, NFIB has been the voice of small business, advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit www.NFIB.com.
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