On August 30, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed a new rule that would require employers to protect their employees from heat hazards in both outdoor and indoor work environments.
- The proposed standard would apply broadly to all employers conducting outdoor and indoor work activities in general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture (where OSHA has jurisdiction).
- The proposed rule is a programmatic standard that would require employers to evaluate their workplaces and implement controls to mitigate employee exposure through engineering and administrative controls, training, effective communication, and other measures.
- The proposed rule includes initial and high heat triggers at the 80- and 90-degree levels, which would require increasingly stringent control measures to protect employees.
- The rule also includes certain exemptions, including short-duration exposures, emergency response activities, and workplaces that are kept below 80 degrees.
- The proposed rule was the subject of a Small Business Advocacy Review panel in 2023 (see OSHA’s Heat Injury and Illness SBREFA page).
Comments on OSHA’s proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention rule are due by December 30, 2024.
Read the Federal Register Notice on Heat Injury and Illness Prevention and file comments at regulations.gov (Docket No. OSHA-2021-0009).
Advocacy contact: Send an email to Bruce Lundegren, Assistant Chief Counsel, at bruce.lundegren@sba.gov, or call 202-205-6144.