‘You should be able to have a water break’: US workers fight for extreme-heat rules

Across America, temperatures are soaring – but industry groups are opposing potentially life-saving heat regulations

This story is co-published with Grist and produced in partnership with the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. It is part of Record High, a Grist series examining extreme heat and its impact on how – and where – we live.

On a sweltering day in July 2015, Roendy Granillo was installing floors in Melissa, Texas. Temperatures had reached 97F when he began to feel sick. He asked for a break, but his employer told him to keep working. Shortly after, he collapsed. He died on the way to the hospital from heatstroke. He was 25.