The Biden administration proposed a new rule Tuesday to address excessive heat in the workplace, as tens of millions of people in the U.S. are under heat advisories due to blistering temperatures.
If finalized, the measure would protect an estimated 36 million U.S. workers from injuries related to heat exposure on the job — establishing the first major federal safety standard of its kind. Included in that number are the over 40,000 Georgia agricultural workers who toil in the state’s farms and fields every year. Also benefiting from the rule would be delivery and construction workers, landscapers and indoor workers in warehouses, factories and kitchens.
Research has shown that agricultural workers are 35 times more likely to die of heat exposure than workers in other industries. According to its public database, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has investigated at least five heat deaths in the state since 2017.
Despite increased awareness of the risks posed to human health by high temperatures, extreme heat protections — for those routinely exposed to heat index readings above 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) — have lagged. Just five states had previously adopted their own workplace standards for heat exposure. Georgia isn’t one of them.
Under the proposed rule, employers would be required to identify heat hazards, develop emergency response plans related to heat illness, and provide training to employees and supervisors on the signs and symptoms of such illnesses. They would also have to establish rest breaks, provide shade and water, and heat acclimatization — or the building of tolerance to higher temperatures — for new workers.
“It’s about time OSHA proposes a national heat safety standard for outdoor workers,” said Erica Lomeli Corcoran, interim CEO of the United Farm Workers Foundation, in a statement. “Farm workers are among the most affected by extreme heat and yet they have the least workplace protections. Common sense solutions, like fresh water, paid breaks, shade and training of outdoor workers during periods of extreme heat should be the federal norm.”
Gigi Pedraza, executive director of LCF Georgia, a Latino and immigrant-serving nonprofit, also said she welcomes the rule, but would like to see it go one step further.
“In addition to emergency plans, shade, water and rest, we strongly believe the rule should include a mandate for health services and follow up to ensure the wellbeing of those directly affected. Finally, allocations for oversight and compliance are critical so the language gets implemented and enforced with the appropriate consequences for employers that don’t comply,” she said in a statement.
Under the Biden regulation, penalties for heat-related violations in workplaces would increase significantly, in line with what workplaces are issued for violations of Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules, a senior White House administration official said.
An estimated 2,300 people in the U.S. died from heat-related illness in 2023. Workers with prolonged exposure to extreme heat are among the most vulnerable to related health risks, such as heatstroke and other illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Alma Young works with farmworkers in South Georgia through her role as coordinator with the United Farm Workers Foundation. In recent weeks, she has traveled to 15 different farms to speak with groups of workers about heat.
“The consensus that we got is that they do experience heat illness. They get headaches. They get nauseous,” she said. “But they just deal with it. You know, there’s no preventive measures, and when they get sick, sometimes they can deal with it, sometimes they can’t, but the employer just keeps pushing them to keep going.”
Workers always bring their own drinks to the fields because they know that they can’t expect employers to always provide water.
“There’s no implementation of any type of protection for workers. As far as the water goes, the workers say that sometimes there’s water, sometimes there isn’t. As far as mandated breaks or things like that, there’s none. It’s really just up to the crew leader, and what they feel like doing. There’s no consistency.”
Ulyssa Soto, a South Georgia native and community navigator for LCF Georgia, says workers only take breaks when their unease becomes unbearable. That’s due in part to pressure from employers, and because most workers are paid in relation to how much they pick. Resting means a reduction in wages.
“It’s like, whenever they feel like they’re about to fall, they really can’t make it, they go sit out,” she said.
As the hottest month of the year gets underway, millions of Americans will be at greater risk of heat strokes, dangerous dehydration and heat-related heart stress.
The Labor Department has been developing a standard for how workplaces deal with heat since 2021, with OSHA having held meetings last year to hear about how the proposed measures could affect small businesses.
Heat protection laws in the U.S. have faced steady industry opposition, including from chambers of commerce and other business associations. Many say a blanket mandate would be difficult to implement across such a wide range of industries.
“Georgia’s climate allows for year-round production of a wide variety of fresh produce. This same climate means that it will be hot in Georgia in the summer. Georgia’s fruit and vegetable growers are concerned with worker safety in all seasons. We anticipate these changes and take proactive steps to limit exposure when temperatures invariably rise,” said Chris Butts, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, in a statement. “We look forward to further reviewing the rules and providing input back to the appropriate agencies with a focus on safe farm work environments for all workers.”
California, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota and Washington are the only states with workplace standards for heat exposure. Some regulations have recently come under attack by Republicans. Over the past year, Florida and Texas, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Gov. Greg Abbott, both Republicans, passed legislation preventing local governments from requiring heat protections for outdoor workers.
If finalized, the Democratic administration’s rule would override state measures, and states with existing procedures to deal with heat would have to institute measures that are at least as stringent as the finalized federal rule.
In Georgia, the bulk of the agricultural workforce are foreigners who come to the state for months at a time on temporary H-2A work visas. H-2A workers receive free housing from their employers, as well as free transportation to and from the fields.
Young says their exposure to heat is constant. Neither the buses used to shuttle workers nor the employer-provided housing barracks typically have air conditioning. Workers tend to use money from their first paychecks to buy standing fans to use when they sleep.
“A worker put it so well one time. He told me that every time he comes here, he feels himself wasting away,” Young said. “He says, like, ‘Each time I go back home, my body never recovers. I know it’s never going to be the same.’ … Other workers were telling us that they’re not coming back. This was their last season because they just can’t take the heat anymore.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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