New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order to protect the city’s 1.4 million outdoor workers from extreme heat, marking a rare move in the U.S. to guard against deadly temperatures.
The order directs city offices to develop worker heat illness prevention guidance and educational materials for workers, as well as specific requirements for ensuring the safety of municipal workers in the heat. It also says city agencies will ensure that existing rules allowing delivery workers to use bathrooms in restaurants where they pick up food are enforced during heat waves.
“No one should have to choose between their paycheck and their health,” Mamdani said at a signing ceremony Monday. “The workers building our skyline, delivering our packages, selling food on our street corners and keeping this city running deserve to come home safe at the end of every shift.”
The executive order comes as the Trump administration stalls action on proposed federal rules to protect workers from heat. Under former President Joe Biden, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had drafted rules that would require employers to provide workers with water, rest and shade when combined temperature and humidity surpass 80 degrees.
