U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia plans to introduce federal legislation later this month that would require paid heat breaks for construction workers, naming the measure for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Houston homebuilder and father of three who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent while traveling to work in July.
The proposed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo Construction Safety Act would require at least one 15-minute paid rest break during every four hours of construction work in high heat, in addition to meal breaks, according to reporting published Oct. 9 by the Houston Chronicle. It would also protect employees from retaliation for taking the required breaks and cover workers across the construction sector, including homebuilding and heating and air-conditioning trades.
Salgado Araujo’s adult sons, Ronaldo and Lorenzo, have endorsed the bill, the Chronicle reported. Garcia, a Houston Democrat who represents Texas’ 29th Congressional District, has previously pressed for federal protections for people working in extreme heat.
The measure arrives amid a widening debate over workplace rules in Texas, where dangerous heat is a routine job-site hazard. A 2023 state law blocked cities from enforcing local ordinances such as water-break requirements previously adopted in Austin and Dallas. Federal employers remain subject to the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s general-duty requirement to address recognized hazards, but OSHA has not finalized a nationwide rule that specifically mandates rest and water protections during extreme heat.
Salgado Araujo, 52, had worked in construction and was headed to a job on July 7 when the deadly encounter occurred, according to Reuters. The heat index in Houston reached triple digits that day, the Chronicle reported. Garcia has said Salgado Araujo carried a homemade electrolyte drink to help him withstand long hours outdoors, a detail she highlighted in a Sept. 1 House floor statement.
The circumstances of the shooting remain disputed. ICE said an officer fired in self-defense after Salgado Araujo allegedly drove a van toward agents during an enforcement operation. His family and elected officials have questioned that account and called for an independent investigation. Reuters said it could not independently verify the competing descriptions of the encounter.
The planned heat-safety bill is separate from those investigations, but Garcia and the family are connecting Salgado Araujo’s name to the everyday risks faced by laborers who build Houston’s homes and infrastructure. Garcia’s office has not yet released full legislative text or a bill number. Once introduced, the proposal would need approval from both chambers of Congress and the president’s signature to become law.
