The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently issued its Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings proposed rule. OSHA’s proposed rule would apply to all employers conducting outdoor and indoor work in all general industry, construction, maritime and agriculture sectors where OSHA has jurisdiction and require employers to develop programs and implement controls to protect employees from heat hazards. Read ABC’s release on the proposed rule.

Elements of the proposal include the following:

• Training requirements for supervisors, heat safety coordinators and employees;
• Developing and implementing a worksite heat injury and illness prevention plan (a written plan must be created for employers with more than 10 employees);
• An initial heat trigger with a heat index of 80°F (or equivalent wet bulb globe temperature). Requirements for employers include providing drinking water, break areas for indoor and outdoor worksites, acclimatization of new and returning employees, paid rest breaks if needed and more;
• A high heat trigger with a heat index of 90°F (or equivalent wet bulb globe temperature). Requirements for employers include mandatory rest breaks of 15 minutes at least every two hours (an unpaid meal break may count as a rest break); warning signs for excessively high heat areas and more;
• Two different options for acclimatization procedures for new and returning workers; and
• Additional recordkeeping requirements.

OSHA is giving the public 120 days to submit written comments on the proposal after publication in the Federal Register, which will likely occur in the next couple of weeks.

OSHA resources on the proposed rule:

• Read the full text of the rule on the agency webpage (See all parts of the NPRM under the “About the Proposed Rule” section).
• Fact sheet
• News release
• OSHA website on the proposed rule

Background:

On Oct. 27, 2021, OSHA issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings, which requested information on how to implement regulations to protect workers from hazardous heat. ABC, as a steering committee member of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition, submitted comments in response to the ANPRM on Jan. 26, 2022.

On April 12, 2022, OSHA announced a National Emphasis Program on Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards, which sets out a targeted enforcement effort and reiterates OSHA’s compliance assistance and outreach efforts.

On July 27, 2023, OSHA issued a heat hazard alert to remind employers of their obligation to protect workers against heat illness or injury in outdoor and indoor workplaces. The department also announced that OSHA will intensify its enforcement where workers are exposed to heat hazards, with increased inspections in high-risk industries like construction and agriculture. These actions will fully implement the agency’s National Emphasis Program on heat, announced in April 2022, to focus enforcement efforts in geographic areas and industries with the most vulnerable workers. On Sept. 29, OSHA issued new resources to protect workers from the effects of heat.

In December 2023, ABC submitted comments as a steering committee member of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition and the Coalition for Workplace Safety in response to OSHA’s potential standard for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings following its review of the  Small Business Advocacy Review Panel materials  and the  SBAR Panel’s final report. In September, the SBAR Panel hosted six video conferences to gather input from small entity representatives. An ABC member participated as a SER during one of the video conferences. The panel’s final report was issued on Nov. 3.

ABC strongly supports worker safety and protection from heat injury and illness, while maintaining flexibility for the fluid nature of the construction environment. Employers play a key role in providing training and awareness regarding heat protection, and ABC will continue to support members in ensuring preparedness for heat-related issues through a wide range of resources.