The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is collecting data and conducting research into heat-related illness and injuries that occur on the job with a goal of establishing a new standard that can help reduce the occurrence of these kinds of heat-caused accidents.
As a part of that information gathering effort, the US Department of Labor is enlisting the aid of small businesses and local government officials as well as other stakeholders and interested parties to collaborate in the standard-development process and engage in discussions about the potential impacts and consequences - intended or unintended - that may result from any particular provision being considered.
Accordingly, OSHA will be hosting Small Business Advocacy Review Panels this summer in order to bring together representatives of the various interests involved to share their experience and shape the new standards in order to achieve the desired results. Panel members will include OSHA staff as well as representatives from the US Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs from within the Office of Management and Budget. And while experts from a wide variety of industries are certainly welcomed and encouraged to attend and provide input, the most-sought-after insight involves the industries where heat exposure illnesses are most common and dangerous, such as agriculture, landscaping, construction, manufacturing, warehousing, oil and gas, utilities, waste management, and food services - particularly restaurants with hot kitchen working spaces.
These meetings will also be open to the public and can be attended in person and/or via teleconference so that all that choose to do so are able to share their thoughts and concerns about how new regulations might impact their current operations in addition to providing the panel with information about current best practices and safety protocols both at their companies and with regard to industry norms generally as they are commonly understood.
While the new standards remains a work-in-progress and have yet to be solidified let alone implemented, of course, the intention is that the new rules will be applicable both to indoor and outdoor workplaces alike across industries currently under OSHA’s jurisdiction, including maritime industries.
The impetus for implementing new heat standards stems directly from rising temperatures around the globe, with the hottest 8 years on record all occurring since 2015. Accordingly, the physical conditions that stem from severe and/or prolonged exposure to excessive heat - which can include death - have been increasing as well, with thousands of people being affected every year despite the fact that cases often go unreported, thus masking the true scale of the problem.
Perhaps the worst aspect of the damage done in terms of loss of life and health as a result of heat exposure at work is that it is almost entirely preventable, which makes the potential impact of well-crafted regulation in this space all the more promising.
The info-seeking panels this summer represent the latest step toward the culmination of a process that began in the Fall of 2021 when OSHA published their Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings. In addition to conducting the current rulemaking process and initiating the development of new heat exposure workplace standards, OSHA has already taken several supplemental measures to address these heat-related dangers, including creating an enforcement initiative for heat hazards, launching a National Emphasis Program promoting heat inspections, creating a national advisory committee covering this topic, and developing an educational campaign to keep both employers and employees informed about the risks and injuries that coincide with high-temperature working conditions.
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