U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D., Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, led a group of 15 Republican senators in urging the U.S. Department of Labor on March 11 to reconsider a proposed federal heat rule that would apply new requirements to businesses nationwide.
The senators said the Biden administration’s proposed rule could negatively impact workers and businesses by imposing uniform standards regardless of local conditions or existing safety practices. The proposal would require all businesses to comply with mandates on safety staffing, recordkeeping, and mandatory breaks at certain temperature thresholds.
“We represent the states of Louisiana, Idaho, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Texas, and Montana which have experience with high temperatures and whose workplaces have already developed strategies for protecting workers,” wrote the senators. “Protecting workers from a common and easily understandable workplace hazard does not require a prescriptive rule that will cause confusion and, in several circumstances, may even undermine worker safety. Workers and businesses thrive when there are clear standards that are flexible, understandable, and pragmatic.”
The letter outlines concerns about specific provisions in the proposed rule. These include mandated rest breaks at certain temperatures that could create additional hazards for some workers; unclear distinctions between indoor and outdoor work settings; requirements for designated heat safety coordinators without sufficient guidance; acclimatization rules that may disadvantage experienced workers; detailed written safety plans that could burden small businesses; expanded training obligations; frequent hazard alerts; and strict water provision formulas.
Currently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) addresses heat-related hazards through its National Emphasis Program (NEP), which has resulted in over 7,000 inspections since its implementation. OSHA can issue citations under the General Duty Clause if employers fail to protect workers from heat hazards based on individual circumstances.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee works to legislate on public health issues as well as education and workforce matters with an aim to protect health and support worker rights according to the official website. In the current Congress Bill Cassidy serves as chair of this committee according to the official website. The committee influences federal regulations affecting health and education across the United States according to the official website, provides oversight of federal laws in these areas according to the official website, and oversees agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) according to the official website.
As discussions continue over workplace heat protections at a national level, Cassidy and his colleagues ask that future rules consider flexibility for local conditions while prioritizing worker safety.
