OSHA Heat Rule Requires Prevention and Emergency Response Plans, Constant Controls

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration released a proposed rule requiring employers to take certain preventative and protective measures in response to high temperatures in work areas.

Background: The proposed regulation is the first of its kind at the federal level, and aims to protect workers from heat-related illnesses and fatalities. The rule has been in the works at OSHA for over three years in response to rising temperatures and an increase in heat-related workplace incidents.

Proposed rule: The rule applies to all employers except those whose workplaces have no reasonable expectation of consistently reaching temperatures above 80° F. The rule imposes several requirements on employers, including:

• Designation of safety coordinators, regular risk assessments, and development of prevention and emergency response plans.
  
  
• Constant monitoring of temperature and humidity levels.
  
  
• Implementation of various controls when temperatures reach above 80° and 90° F.

For a full overview of the rule and its requirements for covered employers, please see our OSHA Heat Rule Overview.

Timing: Interested parties have 120 days to submit comments to OSHA. A final rule is unlikely before at least early 2025, meaning employers will likely not have to comply until mid to late 2025 at the earliest.

Will the final rule ever go into effect? Two developments loom over the eventual fate of OSHA’s proposed rule. First, if President Trump wins in November,  the rule may simply be withdrawn. Second, given the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on Chevron deference that significantly curbed agency authority, any final rule is more likely than before to be struck down in court.

Steps to take now: Although the ultimate fate of the rule may be murky, employers should begin to take steps to assess heat-related risks in their workplaces and identify approaches to reduce such risks and comply with the proposed rule. The Association will submit comments to OSHA; please email [email protected] with any input you may have to inform our comments.