President Joe Biden told the Labor Department on Thursday to issue an alert for extreme heat and to ramp up workplace safety enforcement as scorching temperatures engulf much of the country.
This summer’s heat has created dangerous conditions for millions of workers who toil outdoors or in hot facilities like warehouses. Dozens of U.S. workers die every year on average due to heat exposure, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and safety advocates fear the numbers will increase as climate change makes heat waves longer and more intense.
The Biden administration said it will call on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is part of the Labor Department, to increase safety inspections in high-risk fields, including construction and agriculture, in the coming weeks. The White House said its hazard alert “will reaffirm that workers have heat-related protections under federal law.”
“There is no specific rule under OSHA mandating what companies must do to protect their employees in extreme heat.”
Although OSHA can fine employers for exposing workers to dangerous levels of environmental heat, there is no specific rule mandating what companies must do to protect their employees, such as offer reasonable rest breaks and adequate shade. A large number of workplace safety and environmental groups ― as well as a former OSHA leader ― have been calling on the Biden administration to issue clear and enforceable rules as soon as possible.
The White House said in a statement Thursday that OSHA will “continue to develop a national standard for workplace heat-safety rules.”
More than 100 Congressional Democrats sent a letter to Biden on Monday calling on the administration to prioritize an OSHA rule for both indoor and outdoor work. They said it should require not only water and rest breaks, but training to spot heat-related illnesses.
“Climate change has made scorching temperatures, incidents of workers collapsing and deaths all too common,” Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who helped lead that letter, said in a statement. “The Biden administration must act.”
Parts of the Southwest have seen record-setting heat for weeks, with Phoenix enduring a nearly monthlong streak of days topping 110 degrees. The Maricopa County Department of Health said there were at least seven heat-related deaths from July 16 to July 22 alone. A doctor in the area reported that people have been treated for third-degree burns just from touching hot pavement.