On August 4, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) cautioned employers to protect workers from heat illness. The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings and heat advisories for parts of the state.
“Cal/OSHA will be visiting worksites in agriculture, construction, landscaping, and warehousing industries to make sure employers are taking the necessary steps to protect workers,” Cal/OSHA Chief Jeff Killip said in an agency statement.
“One strategy employers can use as part of their heat illness prevention plan is to start work earlier in the day to avoid the hottest temperatures.”
While there is no federal heat illness prevention standard, California has a heat illness prevention standard for outdoor workplaces. Cal/OSHA reminded employers they must protect workers in indoor spaces from unsafe conditions created by heat as part of their injury and illness prevention program (IIPP) compliance. All California employers must develop and implement a written program of health and safety management to protect employees from recognized workplace health and safety hazards.
Cal/OSHA reminded those who employ outdoor workers to take the following steps to prevent heat illness:
- Develop and implement an effective written heat illness prevention plan that includes emergency response procedures.
- Train all employees and supervisors on heat illness prevention.
- Provide drinking water, free of charge, that’s fresh, pure, and suitably cool so each worker can drink at least 32 ounces per hour, and encourage workers to do so.
- Encourage workers to take a cool-down rest in the shade for at least 5 minutes when they feel the need to do so to protect themselves from overheating. The agency reminded employers that workers shouldn’t wait until they feel sick to cool down.
- Provide proper shade when temperatures exceed 80 degrees. Workers have the right to request and be provided shade to cool off at any time.
California currently has a rulemaking to establish a state heat illness prevention standard for indoor workplaces. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has a rulemaking to develop a federal standard for heat injury and illness prevention in outdoor and indoor work settings. OSHA also has a National Emphasis Program (NEP) of enforcement addressing indoor and outdoor heat-related hazards.
Cal/OSHA encourages employers to take Safe + Sound Week pledge
The state agency also encouraged California’s employers to commit to workplace safety and health during Safe + Sound Week, August 7–13.
According to Cal/OSHA, the benefits of participating in Safe + Sound Week include:
- Enhanced safety and health at worksites with effective safety programs to identify and address potential hazards before an injury or illness occurs;
- Improved employee well-being and morale, as well as increased business productivity and cost savings from proactive safety measures proven to reduce medical costs, workers’ compensation claims, and potential losses associated with downtime and productivity disruptions; and
- Increased awareness of best safety practices that can help prevent work-related accidents, injuries, and illnesses.
California is participating in a West Coast Challenge again this year with Oregon and Washington.
Safe + Sound Week sponsors include the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), and the National Safety Council (NSC), as well as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and OSHA. OSHA has a sign-up page and video for Safe + Sound Week.
Federal OSHA also has an event archive of information from previous years’ events.