Opportunity to Promote Public Health for Workers Exposed to Extreme Heat
October 3, 2024
Overview
Public support for extreme heat protections for workers can help ensure critical legal protections become reality. As a part of the federal rulemaking process, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has published a request for comments on its proposed rule, “Heat Injury Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings.” Comments on the draft rule until can be submitted until December 30, 2024.
Concerned about worker safety in extreme heat? Now is your chance to let the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) know about those concerns and how a proposed rule protecting workers should be formulated to provide protections for indoor and outdoor workers. On August 30, 2024, OSHA published a request for comments on its proposed rule “Heat Injury Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings,” which is being developed as part of a typical multi-year federal rulemaking process. This phase of the rulemaking process provides an opportunity for anyone to submit comments on the draft rule until December 30, 2024.
Public comments must reference Docket ID OSHA-2021-0009 and can be submitted electronically at the Federal Register page with details of the proposed rule or this comment page on the federal government’s regulations.gov website.
During this time period, commenters can request a public hearing, submit comments in support of the proposed rule, ask questions about the content and impact of the proposed rule, suggest revisions to the proposed rule, communicate experiences with and concerns about the impact of workplace heat, share lived expertise, and provide evidence to support the proposed rule and/or any suggested revisions. Comments can be submitted on any aspect of the proposed rule and supporting documentation. Commenters may also respond directly to the “Requests for Comments” questions OSHA poses in the rulemaking notice – these questions are identified throughout the rulemaking documents and include a wide variety of topics, such as questions about exclusions and definitions, supporting information, and feasibility. Any and all comments related to the proposed rule must be considered as part of the rulemaking record before the final rule is developed and goes into effect.
The substance of the proposed rule establishes voluntary and required measures for employers to protect workers from the health impacts of extreme heat, including:
- Development and implementation of a heat injury and illness prevention plan;
- Protective measures required when heat reaches initial or high heat thresholds;
- Initial and yearly training for employees and supervisors; and
- Heat illness and emergency planning and response.
If the proposed rule is adopted without changes, covered employers will be required to implement these measures at no cost to employees, and to pay the usual rate of pay when compliance requires employee time.
OSHA has also provided key information supporting the need for a rule and further explanation of the key terms and provisions of the proposed rule. Additional information about the proposed rule, including data and evidence supporting the need for a rule and further explanation of the requirements of the proposed rule can be found here. The key provisions of the proposed rule are summarized in this Issue Brief.
While the proposed federal rule represents a substantial step toward worker protection, some states and localities may be able to take action more quickly while the proposed rule continues to move through the rulemaking process. State and local governments that are not covered by the proposed rule under an OSHA approved state plan may also wish to adopt policies to protect their employees from extreme heat.
Legal protections from extreme heat exposure for workers are essential to protecting health, and public support for these types of legal protections can help ensure they become reality. OSHA estimates that the proposed standard will reduce heat related injuries and deaths by 65-95%. Workplace exposure to heat inequitably impacts workers of color, and the proposed legal protections can help remedy existing inequities in heat related illness and death for the U.S. workforce. At all income levels Hispanic workers are more likely to be exposed to heat hazards in the workplace and it is anticipated that OSHA’s proposed rule will provide the greatest protections to low-income and Hispanic workers.
For additional information, and a summary of federal, state, and local laws and policies being used to protect, or thwart protections for, workers from extreme heat see Law and Policy Considerations for Workforce Protections from Extreme Heat.
This article was written by Betsy Lawton, J.D., Deputy Director, Climate and Health, Network for Public Health Law.
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