Lawmakers Move to Halt Federal Agency Heat Standard

An upcoming bill would prevent a Biden-era heat standard for indoor and outdoor work settings, including warehouse facilities, from being implemented.

Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and James Risch (R-ID) are expected to introduce the Heat Workforce Standards Act later this month. The draft version of the bill would prohibit the U.S. Department of Labor from finalizing and putting into effect a proposed standard that would place new requirements on employers when certain indoor and outdoor heat thresholds are met.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published the proposed standard in August 2024. If implemented, employers would need to create a heat injury and illness prevention plan to evaluate and control heat hazards in the workplace. At an initial heat trigger of 80 degrees Fahrenheit, employers would have to implement measures such as providing a minimum of one quart of water per employee per hour, break areas for employees to cool down, paid rest breaks, and temperature controls such as air conditioning or fans. At 90 degrees Fahrenheit, employers would need to provide mandatory paid rest breaks, monitor for symptoms of heat-related stress, and announce hazard alerts to employees. Additionally, the proposed rule would mandate that employers train employees on heat stress hazards, heat-related injuries and illnesses, and risk factors.

The text of the proposed bill says those new requirements are “overly prescriptive, burdensome to businesses, and confusing for workers.” OSHA’s attempt to impose prescriptive requirements on employers, including high-heat triggers, makes the proposal unworkable and fails to account for unique considerations, such as local climates and geographies, that affect heat.

FEDA has joined other business advocacy groups and trade associations in sending a letter to Cassidy and Risch supporting the introduction of the bill. “We recognize that excessive heat can adversely affect the health of an individual,” the letter states. “That’s why business owners across the country are already taking steps to prevent these types of incidents. Yet, the proposed heat standard ignores the measures businesses take to keep workers safe and instead imposes new, unworkable one-size-fits-all mandates and paperwork requirements.”