State pushes to enact heat rules for workplaces before summer
To appease objectors, Cal/OSHA revises its regulations to exclude correctional facilities.
After last-minute objections from state officials thwarted plans to implement protections against heat for employees in warehouses and other indoor facilities, California’s workplace safety agency is trying again to adopt the measures before the summer.
The state board overseeing workplace safety standards was primed to approve the landmark regulations at a March 21 meeting.
Shortly before the meeting, however, officials from the state Finance Department, which must sign off on new workplace rules, raised concerns about the costs for prisons and other public entities, saying the price tag for cooling correctional facilities could run “in the neighborhood of billions of dollars.”
Now, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, says it will revise the indoor heat rule to exclude state and local correctional facilities — an amendment that appears to have a clear path for approval in coming weeks.
The Finance Department supported the move, according to spokesman H.D. Palmer.
“I don’t want to get ahead of our staff’s review, but given that it excludes correctional facilities, it would appear to address the issues that we had,” he said.
The agency’s standards board announced the change regarding correctional facilities Thursday, amid pressure from labor groups to get workplace heat protections in place.
“We are hopeful this will create a path for protections this summer but will not stop advocating until it is accomplished,” said Lorena Gonzalez, head of the California Labor Federation.
The federation and scores of regional unions and other groups sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom on April 1 urging him to “act immediately” to approve the rule.
“With the swipe of a pen, the State of California can easily prevent workplace injuries and deaths brought on by indoor heat,” the letter read. “Summer is coming, and time is a luxury that workers cannot afford.”
Under the rule, employers would have to provide cooling areas and monitor workers for signs of heat illness when temperatures indoors reach 82 degrees.
If temperatures climb to 87 degrees, or workers are made to work near hot equipment, employers would be mandated to take additional safety precautions to either cool the broader work site, allocate more breaks, rotate out workers or make other adjustments.
After the board’s aborted vote, the state blew past a procedural deadline to get sign-off from the Finance Department, leaving supporters of the new rules to worry that the approval process would have to start from scratch.
But Eric Berg, a Cal/ OSHA deputy chief, said Thursday that the agency had found a way to extend the deadline, giving it time to revise the rules to exempt prisons.
It is expected to take several weeks for the revised rules to be formally approved, he said.
Berg added that Cal/ OSHA plans to propose separate rules that spell out heat safety measures for workers in jails and prisons. Those must go through the lengthy approval process, which could take months or years.
Gonzalez said unions for workers at correctional facilities are working with the governor’s office to craft a proposal. She said publicsector unions may look to implement safety rules earlier through collective bargaining agreements.
The original rule stems from a 2016 mandate by the California Legislature directing Cal/OSHA to develop heat safety regulations.
The need for guidelines has become increasingly urgent as climate change makes heat waves more frequent and severe, experts say. Temperatures in warehouses, shipping centers, kitchens, schools and other workplaces can soar above 90 degrees.
“We need these regulations to be in place before the summer,” board member Laura Stock said last month. “As we heard from the testimony of all the workers and organizations that were there, people are suffering from the impact of heat illness.”