The first laws in the state protecting indoor workers from intense heat are about to be passed in California; the laws could go into effect later this summer.
The new workplace regulations were approved by a unanimous vote of the standards board of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) on Thursday.
The standards may then take effect in early August after being forwarded to the state’s Office of Administrative Law for what is anticipated to be an accelerated final approval.
The heat rule was supposed to go into effect in 2019, but there were five years of delays. When the regulation is implemented, it will shield about 1.4 million indoor workers from dangerously high temperatures, including those who work in warehouses, restaurants, manufacturing, and other indoor jobs.
In addition to providing water, breaks, and cool spaces when interior temperatures reach 82 degrees Fahrenheit, the regulations mandate that companies keep an eye out for heat-related illnesses in their workforce.
Employers may need to take further measures, like establishing more frequent breaks, modifying timetables, slowing down work pace, or providing cooling devices, if temperatures rise beyond 87 degrees.
California will become the third state, after Oregon and Minnesota, to have laws shielding indoor workers from excessive heat if those regulations take effect. In 2006, California imposed heat regulations for outdoor laborers, including construction and agricultural workers.
In the meantime, new state legislation in Texas and Florida have reduced workplace safeguards against intense heat by prohibiting counties and towns from enacting local ordinances that would otherwise protect outdoor employees, such those requiring regular water breaks or shade time.
Although labor advocacy groups have been advocating for national heat workplace guidelines for both indoor and outdoor workers, no such rules have yet been approved by the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
Proponents claim that as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of heat waves, laws similar to those in California are more important than ever.
The policy’s temperature thresholds in California, according to some worker advocacy groups, are still too high.
Tim Shadix, the legal director of the Ontario, California-based advocacy organization Warehouse Worker Resource Center stated that, “Heat illness risk is a function of both temperature and humidity, but also very much physical exertion. If you’re a warehouse worker and you’re lifting heavy boxes on an 8- or 10-hour shift, there could be a danger of heat illness even in the upper 70s.”
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Shadix continued, saying he hoped other states would follow California’s lead and enact comparable legislation.
Employers in California are “shifting into compliance mode,” according to Robert Moutrie, a senior policy advocate with the California Chamber of Commerce. However, he noted that some industries, including restaurants, will bear a disproportionate amount of the burden due to kitchens’ natural confinement and heat.
Moutrie added that since the regulations will be going into effect in a few months, small firms in particular have expressed worries about how to best apply them.
In a statement, Cal/OSHA stated that it will “move forward with proposing an industry specific regulation for local and state correctional facilities, taking into account the unique operational realities of these worksites” with regard to the employees of California’s jails and prisons. But it didn’t give a precise timeframe.
Concerning the tens of thousands of jail staff members who were left out of the regulations, Wright voiced disappointment.
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