After working for a number of years on a national rule to regulate heat hazards in the workplace, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has just released a proposed heat stress standard to protect workers from indoor and outdoor heat stress. OSHA stated, “Every year, dozens of workers die and thousands more suffer illnesses related to hazardous heat exposure that, sadly, are most often preventable.”
The final rule isn’t expected to be published until sometime in 2025. But its adoption is far from certain. This process could be derailed if there is a change in who has control over the White House. And there will likely be legal challenges to the final rule in the courts.
Lawyers from Fisher Phillips, a law firm specializing in workplace safety law, predicted, “The next year will see OSHA turning up the heat on employers who don’t take heat safety seriously, regardless of what happens with this proposed rule. The agency has already conducted about 5,000 federal heat-related inspections using its National Emphasis Program (NEP) related to heat illnesses and injuries for both outdoor and indoor workers…The heat NEP is effective until April 2025, and it will see OSHA target workplaces where heat-related injuries or illnesses are prevalent during high heat conditions.”
The proposed new rule covers general duty employers including pallet and lumber facilities. It requires employers to develop an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in workplaces affected by excessive heat. Among other things, the plan would require employers to evaluate heat risks and – when heat increases risks to workers – implement requirements for drinking water, rest breaks and control of indoor heat. It would also require a plan to protect new or returning workers unaccustomed to working in high heat conditions.
Employers would also be required to provide training, have procedures to respond if a worker is experiencing signs and symptoms of a heat-related illness, and take immediate action to help a worker experiencing signs and symptoms of a heat emergency. The unofficial version can be viewed at www.osha.gov/heat-exposure/rulemaking. The official version will be published in the Federal Register soon, and there will be a public comment period for stakeholders to submit comments to OSHA on the proposed standard.
Fisher Phillips has developed a guide for employers to comply with existing OSHA best practices for mitigating heat hazards. You can view this resource at https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/osha-releases-first-ever-national-heat-2821648/
