‘Critical’ help: Bill aims to protect workers in extreme heat

RENO — Workers whose jobs expose them to extreme heat could soon see greater protections under a federal bill co-sponsored by Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, with 17 co-sponsors, including Cortez Masto, would require the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to create an enforceable standard meant to prevent workers from exposure to excessive heat in both outdoor and indoor settings.

Protecting workers from record high temperatures is “critical,” Cortez Masto, a Democrat, said in an interview Thursday with the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“It’s critical that many of our workers who have to work outside, that we ensure their safety and their health and they’re not exposed to dangerous conditions in the workplace,” she said. “This would be a new standard, but it’s quite frankly needed as we see these extremely high temperatures and these rising temperatures across the country.”

If passed, OSHA would be required to establish standards for scheduled breaks in shaded or climate-controlled spaces, providing access to water and limiting the amount of time workers are exposed to heat. The bill also would direct employers to train workers on the risk factors for heat-related illness.

The legislation would apply to all employers covered by OSHA but would allow the Labor Department to tailor standards for different industries, according to Cortez Masto’s office. Businesses that violate federal OSHA standards are subject to penalties dependent on the violation and frequency.

Titled the Asunción Valdivia Heat Stress Injury, Illness, and Fatality Prevention Act, the bill is named for Asunción Valdivia, a 53-year-old California farmworker who died of heatstroke in 2004 after picking grapes for 10 hours in temperatures reaching over 100 degrees.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced measures to protect workers as nearly 40 percent of the country’s population faced heat advisories, The Associated Press reported.

“Even those places that are used to extreme heat have never seen it as hot as it is now for as long as it’s been,” Biden said. “Even those who deny that we’re in the midst of a climate crisis can’t deny the impact of extreme heat is having on Americans.”

The president directed the Labor Department to increase inspections of potentially dangerous workplaces, such as farms and construction sites, and called for heightened enforcement of heat safety violations.

OSHA has proposed a rule requiring employers to provide adequate water and rest breaks to outdoor workers with medical services and training to address signs and symptoms of heat-related illness. That agency is holding meetings this summer to hear comments on how the heat standard would affect small businesses.

Nevada reported seven worker fatalities probably caused by heat in the years from 2016 through 2021, according to the Nevada Department of Business and Industry. Nevada OSHA received 547 heat-stress-related complaints across Southern Nevada during the same period.

Las Vegas tied the 1962 record for consecutive days with a temperature reaching 110 or higher this week, reaching 10 days in row on Sunday.

The bill introduced Thursday is not the first effort in Nevada meant to mitigate risk for workers in extreme heat. State lawmakers recently considered Senate Bill 427, a measure that would have required employers to create a heat mitigation program to protect employees on days when temperatures reach 105 degrees or hotter, but the bill died at a committee deadline.

In 2022, Nevada OSHA implemented a federal program providing advice on how businesses can prevent heat illness.

Contact Taylor R. Avery at TAvery@reviewjournal.com. Follow @travery98 on Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this report.