In many parts of California, the temperatures are heating up, which means it’s a good time to take a look at your workplace practices to make sure employees who work under the summer sun are safe—and that you’re complying with Cal/OSHA’s heat illness regulation.
The Cal/OSHA standard applies to all outdoor places of employment when certain risk factors for heat illness are present, including: high temperatures and relative humidity; radiant heat from the sun or other sources; conductive heat sources, such as the ground and air movement; workload severity and duration; and protective clothing and personal protective equipment worn by employees.
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Employers must ensure that each employee has access to at least a quart of drinking water per hour. Employees must also have access to shade when suffering from heat illness or if recovery time is needed to prevent more serious problems. Non-agricultural employers can provide alternative cooling methods so long as they’re as effective as shade.
Employers must also provide training for supervisory and nonsupervisory employees, covering these topics:
- The risk factors for heat illness
- The employer’s procedures for identifying, evaluating, and controlling exposures to such risk factors
- The importance of frequently drinking small amounts of water (up to four cups per hour when working hard under extreme heat)
- The importance of giving the body time to adapt to working in the heat
- The signs and symptoms of heat illness and the importance of immediately reporting problems to a supervisor
- Procedures for responding to symptoms of heat illness, including how emergency medical services would be provided and procedures for contacting emergency medical services or transporting an employee who needs medical attention.
- Also: Supervisors must be specially trained before they supervise employees working in the heat. This training must cover the above training points as well as procedures supervisors must follow to implement the employer’s heat illness program.
Additional Resources:
“New Cal/OSHA Heat Illness Regulation; Practical Checklist for Avoiding Heat and Sun Hazards”