In a measure to protect workers from extreme heat, President Biden has asked the Department of Labor to issue a Hazard Alert for heat, and in addition to this first-time ever action the DOL “will also ramp up enforcement to protect workers from extreme heat,” according to a July release issued by the White House.
The President met with last week Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, with the two SW municipal leaders telling him how extreme heat is affecting their cities and also discussing with him what the administration can do to protect communities like theirs.
In addition to calling upon the Department of Labor, President Biden also announced new measures to protect workers and communities across the country from the impacts of extreme heat.
“For years, heat has been the number one cause of weather-related deaths in America,” the White House release said, adding that “workers, including farmworkers, farmers, firefighters, and construction workers, are disproportionately impacted by extreme heat.”
It went on to say that since 2011, “… more than 400 workers have died due to environmental heat exposure, and thousands more are hospitalized every year.”
The Hazard Alert, the release said, “will reaffirm that workers have heat-related protections under federal law. As part of the alert, the Department of Labor will provide information on what employers can and should be doing now to protect their workers, help ensure employees are aware of their rights, including protections against retaliation, and highlight the steps the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is currently taking to protect workers.”
And the DOL “will ramp up enforcement of heat-safety violations, increasing inspections in high-risk industries like construction and agriculture, while OSHA continues to develop a national standard for workplace heat-safety rules.”
