AFGE welcomes a proposed rule issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that seeks to protect workers from heat illnesses and injuries.
The rule, if finalized, would protect and reduce heat injuries, illnesses, and deaths in the workplace for approximately 36 million workers. OSHA’s proposed rule comes as most states are experiencing record-breaking heat that puts workers at risk.
According to the EPA, nearly 1,000 workers died from heat exposure between 1992 and 2022. This represents about 34 deaths per year. Symptoms of heat-related illness include headache, nausea, weakness, dizziness, muscle cramps, elevated body temperature, loss of consciousness, among many others. Due to climate change, extreme weather will likely continue, and the heat-related injuries will only get worse.
Recognizing the risk that extreme heat poses to workers, especially those working outdoors such as construction workers, landscapers, farm workers, OSHA requires employers to take steps to protect employees such as:
The proposed rule also applies to government agencies. For AFGE, this means the rule would protect members who work outdoors such as those working for the National Park Service, the Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management, and those working indoors, such as laundry workers at the Department of Veterans Affairs and warehouse workers at the Department of Defense facilities, among others.
AFGE has been voicing concerns about the heat issue and pushing OSHA to issue a rule to address it.
“AFGE is pleased that the Biden Administration has proposed this new OSHA rule aimed at protecting workers from the dangers of high heat in both outdoor and indoor settings,” said AFGE Health and Safety Specialist Milly Rodriguez. “With extreme heat affecting many areas, it’s crucial to safeguard workers from heat-related illnesses and fatalities.”
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