Virginia could soon become the latest state to protect workers from extreme heat.
The Legislature last week approved a bill requiring the state Safety and Health Codes Board and the Department of Labor to set standards aimed at preventing heat illnesses among people who work in conditions increasingly effected by rising temperatures.
The commonwealth is one of a dozen states weighing heat-related protections as federal action on the issue stalls. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has not moved forward with a standard proposed under the Biden administration that would require employers to provide workers with water and a cool place to rest when heat and humidity reach 80 degrees.
“Virginia is showing what a state should be doing in the absence of the federal government doing anything to protect workers from heat,” said Charlotte Brody, vice president of health initiatives at BlueGreen Alliance, which advocated for the bill.
