Primary Department: County Administration
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Jesse Dickerman, Interim County Administrator
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: N/A
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Supplemental RCA
Type of Request: Policy
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the Office of County Administration for approval of updates to the Worksite Safety Policy, part of the Harris County Construction Project Safety Policy.
end
Background and Discussion:
On November 13, 2025, Commissioners Court approved the Harris County Construction Project Safety Policy, which included a revised Contractor Safety Record Policy and a new Worksite Safety Policy. Per Section 1.4.2 of the Worksite Safety Policy (“Policy”), the County will submit final proposals for Commissioners Court’s consideration by February 1, 2026, regarding the topics in the following sections:
o Section 11.3.2: Right of Action for Retaliated Workers
o Section 13.1: Progressive Discipline
o Section 13.2: Liquidated Damages
In accordance with the Policy, the Office of County Administration engaged with Commissioners Court staff, the County Attorney’s Office, the Department of Economic Equity & Opportunity (DEEO), the Office of the County Engineer, the Harris County Flood Control District, the Harris County Toll Road Authority, and external stakeholders to discuss the above topics and develop draft proposals for Commissioners Court’s consideration. DEEO convened the Worksite Safety Committee (which was established by the Worksite Safety Policy) to discuss these topics as well.
Expected Impact:
Approval of these proposals by Commissioners Court will enable the County to incorporate and implement enforcement components of the Worksite Safety Policy.
Alternative Options:
Delay of approval of the updated Worksite Safety Policy would hinder enforcement of the policy.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 3. Make our economy more inclusive.
County Strategic Plan Objective: L: Foster more living-wage jobs that ensure worker safety, benefits, and stability across all educational levels.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): L2: Further expand and enforce contractor worker safety policy/standards.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan: N/A
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
1/8/26 |
120 |
Approval of 23 positions within the Office of the County Engineer to support the newly approved Harris County Safety Record Policy. |
|
1/8/26 |
133 |
Approval of 12 positions within the Flood Control District to support the newly approved Harris County Safety Record Policy. |
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1/8/26 |
308 |
Transmittal by the Office of County Administration of an update regarding preparation for implementation of the Harris County Worksite Safety Policy. |
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11/13/25 |
4 |
Approval of a Harris County Construction Project Safety Policy, which includes (1) a revised Contractor Safety Record Policy and (2) a Worksite Safety Policy. |
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10/16/25 |
543 |
To direct the Office of County Administration, in partnership with Engineering Department, Toll Road, Flood Control District, Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity, Purchasing Agent, County Attorney’s Office, and Court Offices, to return to Commissioners Court on November 13, 2025, with a countywide Worksite Safety Policy establishing uniform standards for all County construction projects. At a minimum, this policy shall: incorporate feedback from labor and industry stakeholders; be modeled after evidence-based best practices from peer counties, labor and other organizations; be designed to reduce worksite injuries and improve worker protection; establish clear safety, monitoring, and inspection standards; and include training and enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance. |
|
1/9/25 |
299 |
To direct the Department of Equity and Economic Opportunity to form a working group with Purchasing, Engineering, County Attorney’s Office, Flood Control, the Toll Road Authority, and any other relevant departments and key stakeholders including labor and contractors to develop a set of policy revisions to the Contractor Safety Record Policy and return to Court with the proposed revisions by May 2025, and that the policy go through a biannual review. |
Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Anticipated Court Date: 1/29/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Jesse Dickerman, Interim County Administrator
Attachments (if applicable): Updated Harris County Construction Project Safety Policy, which includes (1) the Contractor Safety Record Policy and (2) a revised Worksite Safety Policy