OSHA Close to Issuing Proposed Heat Safety Rule
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a step closer to issuing new heat safety regulations after its draft rule addressing the dangers of workplace heat received the backing of the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH). ACCSH advises OSHA on safety and health standards and policy matters, and after being presented with the draft rule on April 24, 2024, ACCSH unanimously recommended that OSHA expeditiously move forward and issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
Currently, the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act requires employers to address hazards in the workplace. Employers are required to protect workers from the dangers of heat exposure and must have a proper safety and health plan in place. At the very least, employers should provide adequate cool water, rest breaks, and shade or a cool rest area, and any new employees or employers who are returning to a high-heat workplace should be allowed time to acclimatize to the heat and managers and workers should be trained on how to recognize the signs of heat-related illnesses.
OSHA has been conducting outreach to remind employers of their responsibility to protect workers from heat exposure and has been using its enforcement resources to hold businesses accountable if they fail to provide a safe working environment. This has become a priority for OSHA due to record-breaking temperatures in the United States in the summer months, which has led to dozens of workers dying and many thousands of workers suffering illnesses related to hazardous heat exposure.
Since OSHA launched its National Emphasis Program – Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards – in 2022, more than 5,000 inspections have been conducted on workplaces with the highest exposures to heat-related hazards, and with summer fast approaching, OSHA is prioritizing inspections in agricultural industries that employ temporary, non-immigrant H-2A workers for seasonal labor, as these workers face unique vulnerabilities such as less control over living and working conditions, a lack of acclimatization, and often language barriers.
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“Workers at risk of heat illness need a new rule to protect workers from heat hazards. OSHA is working aggressively to develop a new regulation that keeps workers safe from the dangers of heat,” explained Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “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.”
