The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) released a proposed rule aimed at protecting workers from the health risks of extreme heat.
If finalized, OSHA says its rule would help protect about 36 million workers in indoor and outdoor work settings and substantially reduce heat injuries, illnesses and deaths in the workplace.
Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S., according to OSHA. Excessive workplace heat can lead to heat stroke and even death.
“Every worker should come home safe and healthy at the end of the day, which is why the Biden-Harris administration is taking this significant step to protect workers from the dangers posed by extreme heat,” says Julie Su, acting secretary of labor. “As the most pro-worker administration in history, we are committed to ensuring that those doing difficult work in some of our economy’s most critical sectors are valued and kept safe in the workplace.”
The proposed rule would require employers to develop an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in workplaces affected by excessive heat. Among other things, the plan would require employers to evaluate heat risks and – when heat increases risks to workers – implement requirements for drinking water, rest breaks and control of indoor heat. The proposed rule would also require a plan to protect new or returning workers unaccustomed to working in high-heat conditions.
“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,” says Douglas Parker, assistant secretary of OSHA. “Today’s 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.”
Employers would also be required to provide training, have procedures to respond if a worker is experiencing signs and symptoms of a heat-related illness, and take immediate action to help a worker experiencing signs and symptoms of a heat emergency.
The public is encouraged to submit written comments on the rule once it is published in the Federal Register. The agency also anticipates a public hearing after the close of the written comment period. More information will be available on comment submissions when the rule is published.
In the interim, OSHA continues to direct existing outreach and enforcement resources to educate employers and workers and hold businesses accountable for violations of the Occupational Safety & Health Act’s general duty clause, 29 U.S.C. § 654(a)(1) and other applicable regulations.
Record-breaking temperatures across the nation have increased the risks people face on the job, especially in summer months, OSHA says. Every year, dozens of workers die and thousands more suffer illnesses related to hazardous heat exposure that are most often preventable, the agency adds.
The agency continues to conduct heat-related inspections under a national emphasis program launched in 2022. The program inspects workplaces with the highest exposures to heat-related hazards proactively to prevent workers from suffering injury, illness or death. Since the launch, OSHA has conducted more than 5,000 federal heat-related inspections.