"As heat scorches Texas, lawmakers loosen worker protections"

Eugene Gates worked for the U.S. Postal Service for nearly 40 years before dying on his route in Dallas. On that day in mid-June, the heat index hit 115 degrees, the highest since 1980.

The exact cause of death has yet to be confirmed, but his wife and others attribute it to the brutal heat wave ravaging the state. As Texas temperatures hit triple digits and the heat index rises to dangerous levels, new legislation signed by the governor makes residents increasingly vulnerable to injury, illness and death, experts and advocates say.

Gov. Greg Abbott approved a law that will eliminate city and county rules mandating water breaks for construction workers after the state legislature passed House Bill 2127 during session. It nullifies ordinances that establish 10-minute breaks every four hours for construction workers and prevents cities from enacting similar rules. Dallas and Austin have such ordinances in place, and San Antonio was considering its own. 

And while it may not directly impact mail workers, it could have broad public health implications.

Black and brown people are disproportionately represented within industries where workers spend long hours outdoors, said Benika Dixon, an assistant professor in Texas A&M University’s School of Public Health who studies the health impacts of environmental hazards. “These tend to be the same populations where we see increased rates of chronic disease, which are oftentimes made worse by extreme temperatures.”

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