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Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regional offices in Boston and Dallas have publicly cautioned employers within the past week to protect workers from the hazards of excessive heat. OSHA’s efforts in the past year to address workplace heat hazards have included a national emphasis program (NEP) of outreach, inspection, and enforcement, as well as […]
On April 6, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a pair of stakeholder meetings on the agency’s heat illness prevention activities and whistleblower protections in healthcare (87 Federal Register (FR) 19997, 19997). Both meetings will be held virtually via Zoom. The stakeholder meeting on OSHA’s initiatives to protect workers from heat-related hazards is on […]
A California lawmaker joined a group of worker safety advocates at a press conference Wednesday to call for the federal government to issue an emergency temporary heat safety standard. “Our workers need help now,” said U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.). “We call on the Department of Labor to act swiftly to add protections for workers […]
With parts of the country suffering record-breaking temperatures this summer, employers know they need to be on guard against heat dangers for both indoor and outdoor workers. At some point, however, those precautions may be formalized into a new standard from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Currently, OSHA deals with heat dangers […]
While there is still no federal standard on prevention of worker exposure to extreme heat, a bill is currently sitting in Congress that hopes to establish such a standard. In addition, there are federal recommendations and guidance that can prove useful for employers looking to protect workers from heat illness. The Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness […]
As extreme heat continues to punish much of the U.S., states are enacting additional rules to require employers to increase protections for outdoor workers. One such state is Washington, which on July 13 released emergency heat exposure rules for employees exposed to extreme heat, including those working in agriculture, construction, and other outdoor industries. The […]
The entire Pacific Northwest region has suffered through a recent period of unprecedentedly high temperatures, even for summer. In response, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Oregon-OSHA) has adopted emergency heat safety rules that apply whenever employees must work when the heat index is 80 degrees or more. What Is Heat Index? The heat […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on July 12 called on employers in Western New York to protect workers from heat stress and illness hazards related to high temperatures. The agency acknowledged the anniversary of a worker’s heat-related fatality in Geneseo, New York. On July 7, 2020, Timothy Barber collapsed at the end of […]
Our experts at EHS Hero® recently received a subscriber-submitted question regarding guidance to prevent heat illness, specifically for those workers who are wearing masks as a means of COVID-19. Read on to see what our experts had to say. Q: With summer temperatures on the rise and a growing focus on heat related illness, is there any […]
On May 29, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) reminded employers they must protect their employees who work outdoors from heat stress under the state’s heat illness prevention regulations. The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for northern California and the Central Valley through 9 p.m. PDT June 1.