Bill Introduced to Repeal Proposed OSHA Heat Standard for Indoor and Outdoor Workplaces
Rep. Mark Messmer (R-IN) has introduced a bill that seeks to repeal safety and health legislation introduced by the Biden administration to protect Americans against heat injury and illness in both indoor and outdoor work settings. Rep. Messmer introduced the Health Workforce Standards Act of 2025 on November 20, 2025, to repeal the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings proposed rule. The bill is co-sponsored by 23 Republican representatives in 16 U.S. states and is supported by more than two dozen industry organizations.
OSHA’s proposed standard applies to most employers in the general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture sectors where OSHA has jurisdiction, and requires them to implement a plan to evaluate and control heat hazards in the workplace and protect their workers from hazardous heat. Rep. Messmer claims that OSHA’s proposed rule would impose impracticable and unnecessary requirements on residential construction employers, noncompliance with which would attract excessive financial penalties.
Rep. Messmer said the sweeping and unworkable heat standards were fast-tracked by the Biden administration, and these heavy-handed regulations are likely to crush innovation, increase costs, and undermine productivity. The proposed rule would require almost all American businesses and institutions to follow rigid, one-size-fits-all, federal workplace standards based on predetermined temperature thresholds, regardless of industry, climate, or existing safety protocols.
“The Biden Heat Rule was never about safety, but was rather, unsurprisingly, focused upon expanding federal bureaucratic control over hard-working Americans,” said Rep. Messmer in a press release announcing the bill. “My Heat Workforce Standards Act empowers employers to maintain safe and realistic workplace standard parameters which allow for both their workers and the business to thrive.”
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Rep. Messmer maintains that if OHSA’s proposed rule is implemented, there would be redundant and egregious regulation requirements in all 50 states, with little variance considered for industry-specific outdoor and indoor heat variables and differences in climate. Employers who already had heat injury prevention measures in place would not be recognized, and it would remove state governments’ ability to create targeted heat rules specific to their climate and local industries.
“Needless to say, California, Florida, and Michigan are miles apart when it comes to heat, and heat hazards in construction are very different from the hazards in manufacturing or agriculture. That is why any standard intended to prevent and reduce heat-related injuries must be flexible and keep workers safe in ways that best address their unique environments and challenges,” Tim Walberg, House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman, said. “The Biden-Harris proposed heat rule does not have that much-needed flexibility, which is why this bill is a necessary step in protecting workers and preventing federal overreach so we can help workers earn a living and get home safe.”
