The Department of Labor is moving closer to publishing a proposed rule that seeks to reduce health risks of heat exposure for U.S. workers in outdoor and indoor settings.
In addition, the agency said it is prioritizing programmed inspections in agricultural industries that employ temporary, nonimmigrant H-2A workers for seasonal labor.
“These workers face unique vulnerabilities, including potential language barriers, less control over their living and working conditions, and possible lack of acclimatization, and are at high risk of hazardous heat exposure,” the Labor Department said in a news release.
In late April, the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration presented the draft rule’s initial regulatory framework at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health, according to the news release. The committee unanimously recommended OSHA move forward expeditiously on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. As part of the rulemaking process, the agency said it will seek and consider input from a range of stakeholders and the public at-large as it works to propose and finalize its rule.
Every year, dozens of workers die and thousands more suffer illnesses related to hazardous heat exposure, the agency said.
“Workers at risk of heat illness need a new rule to protect workers from heat hazards,” Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker said in the release. “OSHA is working aggressively to develop a new regulation that keeps workers safe from the dangers of heat. As we move through the required regulatory process for creating these protections, OSHA will use all of its existing tools to hold employers responsible when they fail to protect workers from known hazards such as heat, including our authority to stop employers from exposing workers to conditions which pose an imminent danger.”
The agency said it continues to conduct heat-related inspections under its National Emphasis Program – Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards 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 needlessly, the release said. Since the launch, OSHA said it has conducted nearly 5,000 federal heat-related inspections.
By law, employers must protect workers from the dangers of heat exposure and should have a proper safety and health plan in place. At a minimum, employers should provide adequate cool water, rest breaks and shade or a cool rest area. Employees who are new or returning to a high-heat workplace should be allowed time to gradually get used to working in hot temperatures, the release said, adding that workers and managers should also be trained so they can identify and help prevent heat illness themselves.
“No worker should have to get sick or die because their employer refused to provide water, or breaks to recover from high heat, or failed to act after a worker showed signs of heat illness,” Parker said.
