The return of former President Donald Trump to the White House puts at risk new heat protections for workers that were proposed over the summer by the Biden administration, say workplace advocates.
Trump on the campaign trail never directly addressed the proposal from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which would force employers to provide their workers with water and cool places to rest when temperatures are high.
But many of Trump’s Republican allies in Congress panned the idea when it was announced, including House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.). Westerman called it “one of the most idiotic things they’ve ever done” and said the heat protection rules ignored the realities of outdoor work.
During Trump’s first term, OSHA stopped work on many health regulations, including one slated to be proposed in October 2017 that would have forced the healthcare industry to prepare for an airborne pandemic such as COVID-19.
