President Joe Biden’s administration is advancing a first-of-its-kind proposal to safeguard indoor and outdoor workers from the perils of extreme heat as the US swelters under record-breaking temperatures this summer.
But it will still likely take years to enact a federal rule that could be undone with the stroke of a pen should Donald Trump win the White House — or by a US Supreme Court that just dealt a major blow to the federal government’s regulatory authorities. For the moment, workers are left at the mercy of employers, or the handful of states that have taken their own steps on the matter.
“Even in...a wildly optimistic, best-case scenario, it’s still a couple years until this federal heat standard would take effect,” said Terri Gerstein, director of the Labor Initiative at New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
In the meantime, a handful of states have moved forward with their own heat protection rules, while other states like Texas and Florida have blocked localities from setting standards on essentials like access to water and rest breaks that the new federal rule would address.
Florida’s new law barring local governments from setting their own heat protections kicked in this month, as the heat index was forecast to top 110F (43.3C) in some spots in the Sunshine State.
The heat index measures what the temperature feels like to the human body.
“We have a long road to travel,” said Juanita Constible, an expert in heat and labour at the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council.
“The game is still very much in the states... The federal standards are a floor, not a ceiling. States can go past those, so there’s no need for worker-friendly states to just kind of wait and see what the federal government comes up with,” she said.
The draft proposal from the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), unveiled this month, would implement control measures when the heat index hits 80F (26.7C) that include requirements to provide employees with cool drinking water and paid rest breaks if needed. The proposal provides additional measures at 90F (32.2C) like mandatory rest breaks of 15 minutes at least every two hours.
“Obviously we’ll see some changes before the final (rule) and then enforcement will be a pretty key part of the picture,” Constible said.
“It’s clear that OSHA has been paying really close attention to what workers have been saying they need.” In the wake of the deadly “heat dome” that saw crippling record temperatures in the Pacific Northwest in 2021, Biden initially announced his intention to put forward a rule in September 2021. Biden announced this week he would not seek re-election and endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee.
“Because of climate change, heat has risen to the top of the agenda,” said Jordan Barab, a former senior OSHA official during the Obama administration.
“But OSHA is a very small agency. For them, it’s actually been a very speedy process to get a proposed rule out in three years.
“But it’ll be closer to two years from now before they can issue a final standard — and if there’s a Trump administration, they will likely just kill it.” For its part an OSHA spokesperson said there will still be an open comment period and public hearings as part of the rulemaking process.
“Working swiftly and responsibly to enact a federal heat standard that protects the American workforce is a top priority,” the spokesperson said.— Thomson Reuters Foundation
