Quick Take

Trump’s Election Threatens Worker Protections for Extreme Heat

Lucy Siers

December 10, 2024

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s proposed rule aiming to protect millions of workers from the significant health risks of extreme heat would require employers to establish an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in workplaces. This would include requirements for drinking water, rest breaks and controlling indoor heat when temperatures reach a certain level. Now, the incoming Trump administration could scupper OSHA’s proposed heat protection policy.

Although President-elect Trump never directly addressed the OSHA heat proposal during his campaign, many of his Republican allies ridiculed the idea. The House Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R., Ark.), called the regulation “one of the most idiotic things they’ve ever done,” because, in his opinion, it ignores the realities of outdoor work. The law governing how the OSHA issues public health standards means that it will be difficult for the new Trump administration to kill the proposed rule. However, there is nothing requiring the new administration to finalize the rule and put it into effect

This would not be the first time that a Trump administration prevented the finalization of OSHA regulations. In 2017, during Trump’s first term, his administration stopped OSHA’s work on an airborne infectious diseases regulation, which would have forced the healthcare industry to prepare for an airborne pandemic, such as COVID-19.

By failing to move forward with these increased protections, the Trump administration would put the lives of 36 million indoor and outdoor workers in the U.S. at risk. Heat is a significant workplace hazard and it is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S. Between 1992 and 2017 heat killed at least 872 workers in the U.S. and injured 70,000 more. As a result of climate change, temperatures in the U.S. are only getting hotter.

In the absence of federal protective measures, workers and their advocates will have to lobby states with their own OSHA programs to issue more stringent heat-protection standards. In September, Maryland issued heat regulation and guidance that applies to all workplaces where the temperature reaches 80°F or higher. However, new state laws in Florida and Texas prevent local governments from enacting more rigorous heat-mitigation measures. Instead, these states insist that the federal OSHA’s “general duty” clause is sufficient. The general duty clause stipulates that employers are responsible for protecting workers from temperature extremes and that they should provide their workers with potable drinking water and accessible toilet facilities. Yet employers in the state of Florida, one of the country’s hottest locations, are consistently failing to implement this guidance.

In Florida, gradually increasing heat and humidity during the summer months have caused outdoor temperatures to soar. Analysis by Payless Power revealed that Florida is now the hottest state in the U.S., with temperatures averaging 74.1°F between 2009 and 2023. Four of Florida’s hottest years on record all happened in the last five years. During heat waves, it is not uncommon for temperatures in the state to reach the high 90s, with comments by some outdoor workers that it can feel as high as 120° due to the humidity. Climate change has made early-season heatwaves five times more likely in the state, with some outdoor workers reporting that the heat is felt as early as January.

Outdoor workers are especially vulnerable to high temperatures and humidity. There are an estimated two million outdoor workers in Florida. A Guardian investigation quoted roofers in Florida who are battling heat-induced dehydration, heat stroke, fatigue, dizziness and headaches. Yet their employers often fail to provide laborers with drinking water, shade or easily accessible bathrooms.

Exposure to excessive heat and humidity also has adverse long-term impacts. These can include kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and respiratory conditions. Workplace accidents and injuries become more frequent due to reduced cognitive performance. The International Labour Organization has revealed that the health and safety of workers globally is implicated by heat, resulting in 18,970 deaths annually, 22.85 million injuries, and a projected loss of 2.2% of total working hours worldwide in 2030 (based on a global temperature rise of 1.5°C).

Despite Florida’s rising temperatures and vulnerable outdoor working population, in July of this year, the Republican-backed House Bill 433 came into effect in the state. It prevents city and county governments from enacting workplace heat-mitigation measures that provide more stringent worker protections than the poorly implemented federal OSHA guidelines. The Republican state representative in Fort Myers, Tiffany Esposito, justified the bill as “people-centric” because it ensures that Floridians will continue to have access to good jobs by not putting “business out of business.” But the bill quashed efforts like a Miami-Dade County proposal to offer outdoor farm and construction workers a 10-minute break in the shade every two hours.

The new Florida law is anything but “people-centric.” The poor implementation of OSHA’s guidelines coupled with a state-wide clamp down on local efforts to protect outdoor workers from extreme heat reflects industry pressure to preserve business-as-usual, sacrificing the health of low-paid workers. OSHA’s proposed federal heat protection rule provided hope for workers affected by extreme heat. Now, with the incoming Trump administration unlikely to finalize the rule, low-paid workers in states like Florida seem more vulnerable than ever to rising temperatures.