U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is pushing to establish federal heat specific standards to protect workers as summers are expected to become hotter in the decades to come. But the potential mandates are likely to take several more years of review. 

How are outside workers in the U.S. currently protected from extreme heat events?

There is currently no federal heat standard in the U.S. for workers and no consistent benchmark for determining what constitutes a serious heat hazard.

Heat is the nation’s leading weather-related killer, the White House says. The health of workers employed outside in jobs like construction, farming, mail delivery, garbage pickup, and public safety can be impacted during extreme heat events. 

Some of the hottest U.S. states still have no heat-protection policies in place for workers.

Heat protection laws have faced pushback from industries and some chambers of commerce, who argue blanket heat mandates are too hard to implement.

Some states have implemented their own standards based on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s programs, increasing inspections to ensure employers are offering water, shade, and breaks during severe heat.

A ‘general duty clause’ in some states requires employers to mitigate hazards that could cause serious harm or death. Without a specific heat standard in place, it is difficult for individual employers to discern what constitutes ‘unsafe’

U.S. hospitals reported a major spike in heat-related illnesses this summer in Texas, Arkansas, New Mexico, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to prepare cities for more extreme heat events, expected to become more frequent in the years ahead.

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