The Heat Is On: Is Your Company In Compliance With State Sun And Heat Worker Protections?

With summer in full swing and heat waves sweeping the country, it is important that employers comply with any state regulations protecting employees who work outdoors from suffering from heat-related illnesses. Just last week, with the National Weather Service issuing excessive heat warnings for California, Cal/OSHA reminded all employers with outdoor workers to be mindful and to protect their employees by making sure they are in compliance with heat illness regulations.

California's heat illness prevention regulation requires employers with outdoor employees to help prevent heat illness by:

Developing and implementing an effective written heat illness prevention plan that includes emergency response procedures Training all employees and supervisors on heat illness prevention Providing drinking water that is fresh, pure, suitably cool and free of charge so that each worker can drink at least one quart per hour, and encourage workers to do so Providing shade when workers request it or when temperatures exceed 80 degrees California is not only protecting its outdoor workers from excessive heat, but has extended protections to indoor workers as well. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill, effective January 21, 2017, which directs Cal/OSHA to draft and propose heat illness prevention standards for indoor employees by January 1, 2019. Manufacturing, shipping, and logistics companies, among others, should be aware that the Cal/OSHA board enforces its directives, for example having upheld citations against a warehouse operator after an employee was hospitalized for heat stroke.

Employers can face penalties in regulatory enforcement actions and could even face individual or class action lawsuits if employees suffer from excessive heat while at work. In 2013, California amended its Labor Code, giving employees exposed to high heat conditions the right to recover penalties against their employer for...