S.21 While the sizzling heat was felt the worst in the southern Plains, the Southeast and the West Coast last summer,22 the relentless heat is predicted to impose a particularly high toll on the Great Lakes, Upper Midwest and Northeast in the summer of 2024.23 The extreme outdoor heat will be accompanied by challenges in keeping indoor temperatures safe. [...] While the Minnesota standard is silent about alternatives to maintaining the workplace temperature limits, guidance provided by the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA) indicates that the employer may reduce employees’ time spent in the heat and/ or reduce employees’ workload in lieu of reducing the temperature.44 The guidance goes on to state that the rest/breaks requi. [...] But on the eve of the vote, the California Department of Finance pulled its support for the rule and demanded that it be taken off the schedule of theCal/OSHA Standards Board meeting the following day.73 The Department of Finance had already submitted a Standardized Regulatory Impact Assessment (SRIA) — the required cost impact estimate of the proposed indoor heat standard. [...] The original analysis of the proposed rule included an estimated cost of $1 million for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to comply with the rule.74 However, the Department of Finance pulled its support for the proposed indoor heat rule in the evening of March 20, 2024, claiming to have received information from the California Department of Corrections in February inexpli. [...] The bill has the support of the Heat Stress Network — more than 100 workers rights organizations, unions, occupational health groups and experts, climate change organizations, and faith-based organizations — representing millions of workers across the country.99 Additionally, the Attorneys General of 10 states and the District of Columbia have called upon congress to pass the bill: New York, Conne.
Authors
- Pages
- 22
- Published in
- United States of America
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments 2
- About Public Citizen 2
- Key Findings 4
- Introduction 5
- Background 6
- Federal Efforts to Issue a Protective Heat Standard 8
- Comparison of State Heat Standards 9
- Industries Covered 9
- Table 1: Coverage of State Heat Standards 10
- Trigger Temperatures 10
- Breaks in a Cool Area and Hydration 11
- Break Schedules 11
- Cool Location 12
- Hydration 13
- Acclimatization 13
- Training 14
- Emergency Response 14
- Table 2. Training Requirements in State Standards 15
- Whistleblower Rights 15
- State Heat Standards Under Development 16
- Maryland 17
- California (Indoor Protections) 17
- Local Efforts to Protect Workers 18
- Texas 19
- Florida 19
- Phoenix, Arizona 20
- Conclusion 21
