Last summer, for example, in the midst of a dangerous heat wave that put thousands of lives at risk, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas signed a law nullifying local rules requiring water breaks for outdoor workers. The law targeted provisions passed by officials in Austin and Dallas that gave construction workers a 10-minute break every four hours. “For too long, progressive municipal officials and agencies have made Texas small businesses jump through contradictory and confusing hoops,” said Dustin Burrows, the Republican state representative who introduced the bill. Burrows, it should be noted, is a small-business owner himself.
More recent is a Florida bill, signed into law this month by Gov. Ron DeSantis, that similarly forbids local governments from setting heat exposure rules for workers. Backed by business groups, the law also prevents governments from “maintaining a minimum wage other than a state or federal minimum wage.” Even if a city wants one of its vendors to provide a higher wage than the statewide minimum of $12, it can’t. “Small business owners don’t have the time or the resources to navigate a confusing and contradictory array of local ordinances that go beyond” what “the state already mandates,” said Bill Herrle, Florida director of the National Federation of Independent Business.
Consider, as well, a Kentucky bill that would, if enacted, eliminate workers’ rights to lunch and rest breaks. Federal labor law does not require employers to offer either. The purpose of this bill — introduced by state Representative Phillip Pratt, a Republican — is to “modernize” Kentucky labor law to match the federal standard, or lack thereof. Pratt, who owns a landscaping business, says that he would continue to offer those breaks.
Earlier this year, Pratt also sponsored a bill to weaken Kentucky’s child labor laws, allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to work longer hours. “Our current statutes and regulations unnecessarily restrict the number of hours needed to work, often preventing them from seeking an opportunity to help them pay for college, learn new skills and prepare for the future,” Pratt said. The bill passed in the House and awaits a final vote in the Kentucky Senate.
And last week, in Louisiana, a Republican-led Statehouse committee voted to repeal a law mandating lunch breaks for child workers. Sponsored by state Representative Roger Wilder, who owns multiple Smoothie King franchises across the Deep South, the bill is part of a larger effort to strengthen employers and weaken labor unions in the state. “The wording is ‘We’re here to harm children,’ ” Wilder said, responding to the bill’s critics. “Give me a break. I mean, these are young adults.”
