On March 21, 2024, the CalOSHA Standards Board (CalOSHA) unanimously voted to adopt heat illness prevention regulations for indoor places of employment. The implementation of the regulations is currently uncertain (California’s Department of Finance did not sign off on the proposed regulations because of concerns related to the cost of the regulations). Despite this uncertainty, employers should start preparing for the eventual adoption and implementation of indoor heat illness prevention regulations, although the specific requirements of the regulations may change.
History of Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Regulations
In response to employee heat related deaths, in 2005, CalOSHA adopted outdoor heat illness prevention standards applicable to specific industries. In 2016, the California Legislature directed CalOSHA to adopt indoor heat illness prevention regulations based on reports of heat related illnesses and deaths, particularly in the warehouse industry.
As with prior regulatory efforts, the current regulations likely stemmed from recent events. For example, in July 2023, employees working in an Amazon warehouse in San Bernadino filed a complaint with CalOSHA alleging that the temperature in the warehouse exceeded 100 degrees. According to their complaint, even with air conditioners in the warehouse and fans near the trucks, the workplace “felt like a sauna.” CalOSHA investigated and found no evidence of safety violations indoors under then existing safety regulations.
Requirements of Proposed Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Regulations
The current proposed indoor heat illness prevention regulations apply to all indoor work areas where the temperature equals or exceeds 82 degrees when employees are present. The regulations do not apply to places of employment where employees are voluntarily teleworking.
Some of the obligations imposed by the proposed regulations include:
- Providing fresh, pure, and “suitably cool” drinking water to employees free of charge. The water must be located as close as practicable to the areas where employees are working and in indoor cool-down areas.
- Maintaining one or more indoor cool-down areas that are large enough to accommodate the number of employees taking recovery or rest periods. The cool-down area(s) must be located as close as practicable to the areas where employees are working. The temperature in indoor cool-down areas must be less than 82 degrees unless the employer demonstrates it is infeasible.
- Allowing and encouraging employees to take preventative cool-down rest periods in a cool-down area when needed to protect themselves from overheating.
- Monitoring employees who are taking a cool-down rest period to detect symptoms of heat illness and allowing such employees to continue to rest until signs or symptoms of heat illness have abated.
- Observing employees during a heat wave or when an employee is newly assigned to a work location where the temperature is 87 or higher, or in a high radiant heat area where the temperature is 82 degrees or more.
- Providing first aid or emergency response to employees experiencing heat illness.
- Establishing an Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Plan that includes procedures for accessing water, close observation, cool-down areas, and emergency response measures.
- Training supervisory and non-supervisory employees about heat related illness and employer procedures for recognizing and responding to heat illness, as well as the elements of the employer’s Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Plan.
Employers should be on the lookout for the finalized regulations and take steps now to prepare to adopt an Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Plan.