High temperatures contributed to the deaths of at least three workers last week as a heat dome smothered much of the U.S., illustrating the high stakes of a public hearing that was unfolding at the same time to help determine the fate of the nation’s first proposed worker heat protections.
The weekslong hearing hosted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is part of the federal agency’s process for deciding whether it should finalize, kill or edit the regulation drafted by the Biden administration to make companies offer rest and water breaks to their workers when temperatures hit dangerous levels. Over the course of the hearing, which began on June 16 and ended Wednesday, OSHA officials have faced industry pressure to weaken the rule.
Many industry groups complained that the rule would require employers to give workers 15 minutes of rest for every two hours of work when heat rises above 90 degrees. They argued that although 90 degrees may seem hot in New England or the Pacific Northwest, workers in the South are accustomed to much higher temperatures and don’t need protections.
“My guys in south Texas are automatically looking at this and saying, hey, an 85-, 90-degree heat index down here is a vacation compared to their 104 heat index that they’re getting in the middle of summer,” said Stephen Kinn, speaking on behalf of the Associated General Contractors of America on June 18.
