This summer has again brought record-breaking heat to parts of North America. Outdoor work in the summer sun can lead to heat illness, as can indoor work in spaces that aren’t sufficiently insulated or cooled. Since 2005, California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) administers detailed regulatory requirements for outdoor workplaces; other jurisdictions have since adopted similar requirements (I wrote about these HERE). Indoor workplaces have been considered, too (the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) initiated a National Emphasis Program for both outdoor and indoor workplaces in 2021, which I wrote about HERE). On July 23, 2024, California adopted new requirements governing indoor workplaces (8 California Code of Regulations (CCR) 3396), which I discuss in the rest of this note.
What situations does the new standard cover?
When someone works in a hot environment, their body must shed excess heat to maintain a stable internal temperature. This is accomplished mainly by circulating blood to the skin, and by sweating. This becomes less effective when the air temperature is close to or warmer than normal body temperature, and/or when the humidity is high enough to prevent effective evaporation. Even when it works, the worker’s body tends to heat up, and fluids and salts lost by sweating will have to be replaced. Thresholds and interpretations vary across different governmental and professional standards, with California’s new indoor heat standard providing:
- Standard applies if any of the following conditions are met:
- The temperature equals or exceeds 87oF when employees are present
- The heat index equals or exceeds 87oF when employees are present
- Employees wear clothing that restricts heat removal and the temperature equals or exceeds 82oF
- Employees work in a high radiant heat area and the temperature equals or exceeds 82oF
- “Heat illness” means “a serious medical condition resulting from the body's inability to cope with a particular heat load, and includes: heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, and heat stroke”
- “Indoor” means “a space that is under a ceiling or overhead covering that restricts airflow and is enclosed along its entire perimeter by walls, doors, windows, dividers, or other physical barriers that restrict airflow, whether open or closed. All work areas that are not indoor are considered outdoor and covered by section 3395 [California’s outdoor heat illness prevention standard]. EXCEPTION: Indoor does not refer to a shaded area that meets the requirements of subsection 3395(d) and is used exclusively as a source of shade for employees covered by section 3395.”
The following indoor situations are not covered;
- places where employees are teleworking from a location of the employee's choice, which is not under the control of the employer
- “incidental heat exposures” where an employee is exposed to temperatures at or above 82oF and below 95 oF for less than 15 minutes in any 60-minute period. This exception does not apply to vehicles without effective and functioning air conditioning; or inside shipping or intermodal containers during loading, unloading, or related work.
- emergency operations directly involved in the protection of life or property
- prisons, local detention facilities [Governor Newsome’s administration rejected an earlier version of this standard that did not exclude these facilities]
What compliance requirements apply?
The new standard requires covered employers to do the following:
- provide potable drinking water (“fresh, pure, and suitably cool”) to employees
- free of charge
- located as close as possible to working areas and in indoor cool-down areas (see below)
- plumbed, or in sufficient quantity to allow each employee 1 quart per hour (at the start of the shift, or under reliable procedures to restock)
- frequent consumption of water is to be encouraged
- provide cool-down areas (“an indoor or outdoor area that is blocked from direct sunlight and shielded from other high radiant heat sources to the extent feasible and is either open to the air or provided with ventilation or cooling”, readily accessible, and not subject to other unsafe or unhealthy conditions) where employees can sit without being in physical contact with each other
- as close as practicable to the work area
- large enough to accommodate employees who remain onsite during their meal period
- maintained at no more than 82oF unless the employer demonstrates this is infeasible
- allow and encourage employees to take preventative breaks in a cool-down area when the employee feels the need to do so, monitor each such employee’s well-being, and provide appropriate first aid or emergency response to heat illnes.
What Actions are Required?
Heat illness can be prevented if workers have the chance to keep their body temperatures down, to cool off if they start to overheat, and to rehydrate. The new standard requires employers to do the following:
- Procedures to provide at least one quart per hour of “sufficiently cool” drinking water (this term is not defined);
- Encourage employees to frequently consume water or other acceptable beverages (such as electrolyte-replenishing beverages) to ensure hydration
- Procedures for providing shade or other sufficient means to reduce body temperature, including the location of such means and how employees can access them;
- Encourage and allow employees to take a preventative cooldown rest period when they feel the need to do so to protect themselves from overheating, using sufficient means to reduce body temperature (e.g., shade). This period must be paid unless taken during a meal period that is not otherwise compensated. If an employee shows signs or symptoms of heat-related illness during the cool-down rest period, the employer must relieve them of duty until recovered;
- Undertake assessment measures
- Measure temperature and heat index using appropriate equipment, and record whichever is higher
- Identify and evaluate all other environmental risk factors for heat illness
- Maintain accurate records of the higher of temperature and heat index, including the date, time, and specific location of all measurements, for at least 12 months
- Have effective procedures for active involvement by employees and any union representatives
- Undertake control measures, following the standard hierarchy
- Engineering controls to reduce workplace temperature below applicable threshold
- Administrative controls to minimize the risk of heat illness
- Personal heat-protective equipment (e.g., water- or air-cooled garments, cooling vests, etc.)
- Emergency response procedures
- Ensuring effective communication by voice, observation or electronic means
- Responding to signs and symptoms of heat illness, including first aid and emergency response (internal and/or with outside entities) as appropriate
- Acclimatization- including
- when outside heat waves may impinge on the workplace
- for the first 14 days for newly assigned employees
- training, including
- environmental and personal risk factors, including the added burdens of clothing and equipment
- employer’s procedures for complying with the requirements of this standard
- importance of frequent consumption of small quantities of water
- acclimatization
- types of heat illness, including signs and symptoms, and first aid
- importance of immediate reporting of heat-related issues
- additional supervisor training, in observations, response and compliance
- Heat illness prevention plan
- Written, in English and additional languages as necessary
- Stand-alone, or incorporated into the employer’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program
- Including procedures used to provide compliance with applicable requirements
Now what?
These requirements are in place in California as of this writing. Non-California employers should at least consider them as guidelines for use in evaluating protections against heat– note that the US federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a proposed standard that will apply to indoor and outdoor workplaces in OSHA-regulated parts of the country.
Self-Assessment Checklist
Do any of my organization's workers work in indoor situations where ambient heat may create a hazard of heat illness (e.g., enclosed spaces, work in manufacturing or other processes involving hot materials or equipment, and/or in confining and heat-retaining clothing and equipment)?
If so, does the organization provide appropriate:
- Training (tailored to the workplace source(s) of heat hazards, preventive measures, and responses to heat illness?
- Water?
- Shade or other appropriate ways for workers to cool down?
- Planning and procedures?
Does the organization include assessment of heat hazards in the design and construction of new facilities, and in structuring of work activities?
Where Can I Go For More Information?
- California
- Cal/OSHA “Heat Illness Prevention Guidance and Resources” webpage
OSHA
About the Author
Jon Elliott is President of Touchstone Environmental and has been a major contributor to STP’s product range for over 30 years.
Mr. Elliott has a diverse educational background. In addition to his Juris Doctor (University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1981), he holds a Master of Public Policy (Goldman School of Public Policy [GSPP], UC Berkeley, 1980), and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Princeton University, 1977).
Mr. Elliott is active in professional and community organizations. In addition, he is a past chairman of the Board of Directors of the GSPP Alumni Association, and past member of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of California's Environmental Law Section (including past chair of its Legislative Committee).
You may contact Mr. Elliott directly at: tei@ix.netcom.com