For the first time, US standards protect workers from heat

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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has crafted rules to identify heat hazards for workers and establish standards for rest breaks, cooling areas and emergency response plans.

For the first time, there are federal standards to protect workers who toil under extreme heat.

Rules initiated last week by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration includes requirements for identifying heat hazards, development of heat illness and emergency response plans, training for employees and supervisors, and standards such as rest breaks, access to shade and cool water, and heat acclimatization for workers.

OSHA will adopt two heat index thresholds based on humidity as well as temperature – one at 80 degrees, the other at 90 degrees. At the lower threshold, employers would be required to provide drinking water and break areas.

At the higher threshold, more protections, such as monitoring for signs of heat illness and mandatory 15-minute breaks every two hours would commence. Employers would be required to check on workers every few hours and issue a hazard alert to remind them to stay hydrated.

“Workers all over the country are passing out, suffering heat stroke and dying from heat exposure from just doing their jobs, and something must be done to protect them,” OSHA Assistant Secretary Doug Parker said in a July 9 statement. “[The] proposal is an important next step in the process to receive public input to craft a ‘win-win’ final rule that protects workers while being practical and workable for employers.”

OSHA officials have been working on proposed regulations the last two years as public health officials, climate advocates and the White House have asked for regulations after several worker deaths caused by extreme heat.

“The heat conditions that workers face are the worst we’ve seen in decades, and climate change will only continue to drive temperatures higher,” U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, a Charlotte Democrat and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, said last week. “Too many workers are exposed to dangerously hot conditions with few or no water or rest breaks. The Biden administration has taken a historic step …in proposing a rule that would standardize heat protections nationally. Too many lives have been lost due to preventable heat illness. We can do better by our workers, and this rule is an excellent step forward.”

With much of the country – including the Carolinas – sweltering under a prolonged heat wave, the new rule is timely for workers whose health is impacted by extreme temperatures.

Adams, along with House of Representatives colleagues Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), last year introduced the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury and Fatality Prevention Act to strengthen health and safety rules for workers exposed to extreme heat.

Senate Democrats Alex Padilla of California and Sherrod Brown of Ohio introduced identical companion legislation in the upper chamber. The lawmakers also published a letter last year urging the White House to better protect workers.

The bill was named after Asunción Valdivia, a California farmworker who died in 2004 after picking grapes for 10 hours straight in 105-degree temperatures.

“Extreme heat in the workplace is not just about being uncomfortable on a hot day. When combined with heavy workloads, clothing, and high humidity, excessive heat can lead to illnesses, injuries, and sometimes death,” Scott said. “No worker should have to fear that they may not make it home to see their family. The proposed rule requires employers to provide essential safeguards such as water, rest breaks, and shaded or cool rest areas. These measures are simple, yet critical, as increasingly extreme temperatures pose heightened risks to workers' health and safety, particularly during the summer months.”

According to OSHA, excessive heat killed 121 workers between 2017 and 2022. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 1992 to 2019, there were an average of 32 heat-related workplace fatalities annually. In 2022, there were 43 heat-related deaths, up from 36 the year before. While there was no federal standard before the new rules, similar requirements adopted by California has resulted in 30% fewer heat-related illnesses and injuries.

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