WASHINGTON D.C. — Lawmakers called on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to implement heat standards while working amidst dangerously high temperatures that ravaged much of the United States over the past few weeks.
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U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and U.S. Representative Greg Casar (D-TX-35) led a bicameral group of elected officials to call on OSHA to implement a federal workplace heat standard that would prevent the subjugation of workers to dangerously high temperatures.
Brown encouraged OSHA to implement a standard based on the Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act, which aimed to create a universal heat standard requirement for workers who were threatened by hot working conditions. The bill was reintroduced back in 2021.
“All workers need a safe work environment. Ohioans shouldn’t have to risk their health in extreme heat to provide for their families,” Brown said. “OSHA must create national standards and protections to keep workers safe on the job, as the risks of heat stress increase.”
The letter urged Acting U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Julie Su and Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas L. Parker to establish an enforceable federal standard to ensure that workers and employers could recognize and respond to the signs of heat stress.
The recommended standard would require:
- adequate hydration
- rest breaks
- areas for rest breaks that are shaded (in the case of outdoor work) or air-conditioned (in the case of indoor work)
- medical services and training to address signs and symptoms of heat-related illness
- a plan for acclimatization to high-heat work conditions
Over 110 members of the House and Senate signed the letter.
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