Summer is here, and temperatures are rising across California. Are your employees who work outside safe? Just weeks ago, a teenager in Modesto died from heat stress on the job, working in fields. This kind of tragedy doesn’t have to happen, and with proper precautions you can ensure that your workers are safe when they have to work under the hot sun (or indoors in excessive heat) in any industry, be it agriculture, construction, landscaping, or many others. What are your obligations?
Outdoors
Cal/OSHA has a heat illness standard that 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. 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. Nonagricultural employers can provide alternative cooling methods as long as they’re as effective as shade.
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In addition, employers must provide training for supervisory and nonsupervisory employees, covering specified topics, such as: 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; signs and symptoms of heat illness and the importance of immediately reporting problems to a supervisor; and 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.
Indoors
Cal/OSHA also requires employers, as part of their injury and illness prevention plans, to take steps to protect employees who work near sources of heat or inside buildings with limited cooling capabilities. Examples include boilers, ovens, dryers, or warehouses without air conditioning. You must have written procedures addressing heat illness prevention, facilitate and encourage frequent water drinking, allow rest breaks in cool areas, give workers enough time to acclimatize to hotter than normal conditions, be prepared to handle heat illness emergencies, and train supervisors and employees on heat illness prevention.
For more information on your obligations to prevent heat-related illness, check out Cal/OSHA’s website. And, click here to read California Employer Advisor’s exclusive story, “Health and Safety: New Cal/OSHA Heat Illness Regulation; Practical Checklists for Avoiding Heat and Sun Hazards.”
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