The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on July 2 issued a proposed rule to shield indoor and outdoor workers from heat illness. We’ve gathered articles on the news from SHRM Online and other outlets.
Two Heat Index Thresholds
Under the proposed rule, OSHA would adopt two heat index thresholds that would apply nationally and would factor in humidity as well as temperature. One, at 80 degrees Fahrenheit, would require employers to provide drinking water and break areas that workers can use as needed. Employers would also need to have a plan for new and returning workers to gradually increase their workload so their bodies adjust to the heat.
More protections would kick in at 90 degrees, including monitoring for signs of heat illness and mandatory 15-minute breaks every two hours. Employers would be required to check on people working alone every few hours and to issue a hazard alert reminding workers of the importance of staying hydrated.
Heat Wave Season Has Grown
The heat wave season is 46 days longer now than it was in the 1960s, and the average heat wave has increased from three days to four days over the same time span, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
General Duty Clause
Without a heat-stress regulation, OSHA depends on the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s (OSH Act's) general duty clause to cite employers that it believes endangered workers because of too-hot conditions. The OSH Act requires employers to provide a workplace that is free of known deadly hazards that can be reasonably abated.
However, judges have ruled against OSHA in several recent cases because the heat hazard and protective actions employers could have taken weren’t clearly established by the agency.
Amended Indoor Heat Rules in California
On June 20—the first day of summer—a state worker safety board of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health amended indoor heat protection rules in an attempt to win the backing of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration.
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