Gov. DeSantis bans local governments from protecting workers from heat, limits police

[The Deadman]

https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/d...ight-boards-2/

MIAMI - Florida is seeing two more recent instances of state government under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis limiting the powers of local government with newly signed bills that deal with worker safety and police oversight.

A bill signed Thursday bans local governments from requiring heat and water breaks for outdoor workers. And a bill DeSantis signed Friday strips local citizen police oversight boards from investigating officers.

In a bill DeSantis signed Thursday, Florida, one of the hottest states in the country, local governments will be banned from requiring heat and water breaks for outdoor workers.

It was a direct response to Miami-Dade County's effort to require shade and water for construction, farm and other outdoor workers.

But in a state where construction and farming are huge industries — Miami-Dade estimates more than 325,000 workers in that county alone — critics lambasted the bill that keeps local government from protecting workers from heat and sun. Democratic state Sen. Victor Torres called the new law an attack on workers.

Asked about the bill Friday, DeSantis said it was an issue raised by Miami-Dade County lawmakers.

"It really wasn't anything that was coming from me. There was a lot of concern out of one county — Miami-Dade," DeSantis said. "They were pursuing what was going to cause a lot of problems down there."

But the law will now keep Florida's 66 other counties from requiring similar worker protections.

Separately, DeSantis signed a bill Friday that would ban local policy advisory commissions from initiating disciplinary actions against officers, instead limiting the citizens boards to making recommendations on policy. DeSantis was surrounded by law enforcement officers and in front of cheering supporters as he signed the bill to ban citizens oversight boards from investigating complaints about police officers.

DeSantis said some counties have commissioners that appoint activists to oversight boards and use them as a political weapons for an anti-police agenda.

"They're not free to use law enforcement as political pinatas, they're not free to create false narratives, they're not free to try to make it miserable to work in uniform," DeSantis said. "They are not able to initiate disciplinary proceedings. We have other ways to do that."

The law also requires the oversight boards to be appointed by and under the direction of sheriffs and police chiefs. At least one member of oversight boards must be a retired law enforcement officer.

[IndigoErth]

WTF.

Imagine treating a right to not die of heat stroke as a luxury.

If government is able to set requirements for anything, that seems like a pretty credible top of the list item.

[Autbot_Benz]

Desantis is such an asshole. That Denis Leary song comes to mind. He's an Asshole

[Mayhem]

Wow, what a complete douchebag.

[robertfiduciary]

This is the guy AndrewNBD said would be a good Republican Presidential candidate, right?

Whoops.

[TMNT is cooler than MOTU]

Hydrating is woke

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Heat and drinking breaks should be a given safety routine, not a political issue.

[TurtleManiac]

This sounds like clickbait. You can’t stop outdoor workers from drinking water and taking breaks in triple digit weather. Is there more to this? Like, was it part of some big omnibus bill that includes leftist agenda items such as allowing transgenders in women’s spaces, or CRT curriculum in schools? And DeSantis refused to sign off on it? Something to do with illegal immigration maybe? Really can’t find much info, gotta do some research on this.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by TurtleManiac

This sounds like clickbait. You can’t stop outdoor workers from drinking water and taking breaks in triple digit weather. Is there more to this? Like, was it part of some big omnibus bill that includes leftist agenda items such as allowing transgenders in women’s spaces, or CRT curriculum in schools? And DeSantis refused to sign off on it? Something to do with illegal immigration maybe? Really can’t find much info, gotta do some research on this.

I can't see much about it either. From what I gather, nothing is preventing them from taking the breaks now, but if this stayed on as some kind of stringent mandatory thing (in addition to the standard breaks and lunch break and so on that they're already entitled to) then it would open the door to leftist watchdog organizations who could swoop in and bring about class action lawsuits and all sorts of "ah-ha, GOTCHA!" type things. Just a whole lot of trouble right now a pretty stable agricultural sector in a county doesn't need or want. There seems to be some kind of cartoon picture being painted that because this was struck down, there will be like evil overseers now shouting at agricultural workers, "PUT THAT DASANI DOWN! Get back to work!" whilst cracking a whip and twirling their mustache or something, and that's just not what's going on here at all. And obviously if it does it will be front page news, so be on the lookout for that.

Remember doing COVID when all the media were whipped into a frenzy because "omg, Donald Trump is HURLING PAPER TOWELS at Puerto Rico victims!"? And remember how stupid that was, on its face? It's not quite apples to apples but it's absolutely coming from the same place.

[Mayhem]

The way I read is was that it allowed companies etc to stop workers having water and heat breaks if they so wished. They'd be ****ing daft to block them, but now the proviso is there, they've removed the right to have mandatory breaks if they so wish.

In the same way there's no government or country wise legislation giving all women a minimum paid period for maternity leave, it's all down to the individual states to decide...

[IndigoErth]

Yeah, while it's not blocking employers from allowing these breaks as needed and can continue as normal, it IS allowing the bad ones the leeway to potentially abuse and harm the people who work under them and openly be unreasonable on those who may not be able to afford to just quit and walk out in an instant.

[Andrew NDB]

Do you remember when the "Pharma Bro" was trending and everyone was making furious Facebook posts about how he was jacking up the price hundreds or thousands of dollars for an HIV medication? Yet you couldn't find even one story or testimonial of a person ever having to pay that price for the medication? Yet still, the fervor...?

Same deal here. Where's all the interviews with the workers angry and protesting that they don't get a bunch of mandatory paid "water and heat" breaks? Surely there must be some, right? Even like one?

[IndigoErth]

Sure, but it's also not necessarily something that would have immediate impact though, not when there is some attention on it. (Is it even on the books yet?) A decade from now if that gray area to enable difference for employee well being is still there and some terrible employer ends up accused of unreasonable expectations for a prior several years... Fully possible. Not like crappy employers don't exist out there who wouldn't be so inclined to take advantage at some point.

I'm filing this under "we shall see."

Hopefully nothing bad comes of it. Really don't want to hear about any people dying of heat stroke because their boss wanted those few extra bucks in his pocket.

[Mayhem]

It's like the stories you hear (and there's enough to at least think yeah, it does go on) where employees are timed on how long their toilet breaks are. On the clock, work work work, I don't pay you to slack off...