Dive Brief:

• Construction workers in Dallas could be getting more water breaks if the City Council adopts an ordinance forcing employers to give 10-minute breaks for every four hours on the job.

• The proposal got a mixed reception from council members, who variously viewed it as a regulatory burden or a basic human right.

• The ordinance also would require construction firms to provide laborers with access to drinking water, and would enforce “meaningful” penalties for employers who refuse to comply. What those penalties would be have not yet been outlined.

Dive Insight:

Some council members dismissed the measure as unnecessary. But advocates pointed to research that claims one in three Dallas construction workers got no rest breaks at all and two in three have no access to drinking water on the job.