OSHA Eyes National Heat Illness Rule

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By Hao Nguyen, Esq.
Senior Product and Regulatory Counsel

Following in the footsteps of Oregon and California, the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has published a proposed rule to create a national standard to prevent outdoor and indoor heat related illness, injury, and death (Proposed Rule) in August of this year. Here, I am going to give you the highlights of this proposed rule. For a more detailed look as to how we got here and OSHA’s General Duty Clause, I encourage you to read an article I published earlier titled, “OSHA Targets Leading Cause of Weather-Related Injuries with Proposed Heat Illness Regulation.”

Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Plan (HIIPP) and Response Procedures

All covered employers conducting outdoor and indoor work must create and implement a work-site specific HIIPP. This HIIPP contains information on how the business identifies heat hazards in both outdoor and indoor work sites. Additionally, the employer must develop a heat emergency response plan in order for its employees to understand the proper steps that need to be taken if an employee is experiencing signs and symptoms of heat-related illness or injury. 

Employee Training 

Prior to completing any work at or above the Initial Heat Trigger (and annually thereafter), all employees will need to complete a training on heat hazards, risk factors that contribute to heat-related illness, signs and symptoms of heat-related illness, and the employer’s policies and procedures, among others.

Heat Triggers

This Proposed Rule has two thresholds called the “Initial Heat Trigger” and the “High Heat Trigger”  that, if met, places additional requirements on businesses to help protect their affected employees and provide for a safer workplace from heat related issues.

An “Initial Heat Trigger” occurs when a heat index or wet bulb globe temperature equal to the NIOSH Recommended Action Limit of 80 degrees Fahrenheit is met or exceeded. If this happens, the employer must implement control measures that include providing to its employees the following:

  • Access to cool drinking water;
  • Rest areas that have additional cooling measures (i.e. air conditioning, swamp coolers, fans);
  • Indoor work area controls;
  • Protocols for acclimatization that apply to both new and returning unacclimatized employees; 
  • Paid rest breaks to prevent overheating (if applicable); and
  • Regular and effective communication between the affected employee and the employer

A “High Heat Trigger” occurs when a heat index or wet bulb globe temperature equal to the NIOSH Recommended Action Limit of 90 degrees Fahrenheit is met or exceeded. If this happens, the employer must implement additional control measures that include providing to its employees the following:

  • Mandatory rest breaks of 15 minutes at least every two hours (unpaid meal breaks can count toward this mandatory rest break);
  • Means of observing signs and symptoms of heat-related illness or injury in employees;
  • A hazard alert to remind employees of key parts of the business’s HIIPP; and 
  • Warning signs at any indoor work areas with ambient temperatures that regularly exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit 

Exceptions

OSHA has identified excepted businesses in which this Proposed Rule will not apply to: 

  1. Work activities for which there is no reasonable expectation of exposure;
  2. Short-duration employee exposures in any period between 15 minutes and 60 minutes;
  3. Emergency response organizations (firefighting, medical services, technical search and rescue, or other specific emergency response activities);
  4. Work activities performed in indoor work areas or vehicles where air-conditioning keeps the ambient temperature below 80 degrees Fahrenheit; 
  5. Telework; and
  6. Sedentary work activities in indoor work areas that only involve sitting, occasional standing and walking, and occasional lifting of weights less than 10 pounds.

Summary

It is worth noting again that this is the Proposed Rule (not a final rule) and OSHA has given the public until December 30, 2024 to comment on the language. To help spur engagement, OSHA has constructed a fact sheet that succinctly summarizes each point on this Proposed Rule, which can be found here.

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