Civil Rights Comment on the Proposed Workplace Standard on Heat-Related Injury and Illness
View a PDF of the comments here.
January 14, 2025
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20210
Attn: Stephen Schayer, Director, Office of Physical Hazards and Others
Submitted via regulations.gov
Re: Docket No. OSHA–2021–0009, Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings [https://www.regulations.gov/document/WHD-2023-0001-0001]
Dear Director Schayer:
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States, and the 89 undersigned organizations, we submit this comment in strong support of the Department of Labor’s proposal to protect workers from exposure to dangerous heat in the workplace. When finalized, this rule will save thousands of lives by ensuring workers have common sense health and safety protections on the job. In particular, it will help to protect Black, Latino, and other workers of color, workers with disabilities, immigrant workers, and workers with low incomes who are disproportionately vulnerable to heat-related injury and illness.
The Leadership Conference is the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition and provides a powerful unified voice for the many constituencies we represent. As an organization dedicated to advancing civil and human rights, we are supportive of the department exercising its authority to protect workers from the effects of heat on the job. This is an important step forward in updating our nation’s labor practices and will ensure better health and safety outcomes for workers nationwide, including workers that are part of the diverse communities our coalition represents. Our coalition understands that efforts to empower these workers will in turn lead to a more open and just society — an America as good as its ideals.
The undersigned organizations applaud the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) decision to include an equity assessment as part of the proposed regulation’s distributional analysis. As that equity assessment makes clear, the risks of heat exposure are unequally distributed and put communities that are already underserved and underresourced at greater risk. Federal data and independent research confirm that:
- Individuals from underserved populations, especially workers of color, are more likely to work in occupations and industries with heat-related risks, with Latino workers in particular facing disproportionately high rates of heat-related illness and death;
- Low-income workers are disproportionately exposed to heat-related hazards while on the job; and
- Excessive exposure to heat exacerbates existing health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and heart disease and puts workers with certain disabilities at significant risk.
As the climate crisis fuels more extreme heat each year, workers will become increasingly vulnerable to injury and death on the job without federal protections in place. We urge the Department of Labor to finalize these proposed regulations expeditiously and ensure their robust enforcement. In particular, we strongly support finalization of the following requirements outlined in the proposed rulemaking:
- Application of the regulations to as many workers as possible with limited exceptions, as workers across occupations and industries face growing risks related to occupational heat.
- Protection of both indoor and outdoor work locations, as workers face unique heat-related vulnerabilities in both settings.
- The use of heat triggers that reflect the evidence about the risks of heat-related injuries.
- Requirements that employers provide workers with common-sense protections such as paid breaks and access to drinking water during periods of dangerous heat, which will in turn afford workers greater safety and dignity.
- Requirements that employers produce site-specific heat safety plans; engage workers in the process of developing these plans; and provide regular worker training that meets the language access needs of workers. These language access requirements will ensure that all workers, including workers with a first language other than English, are fully aware of their rights and protections.
Additionally, we encourage the department to make several changes to the final rule to ensure that workers are fully protected from the dangers of heat exposure on the job.
First, in response to the proposed rulemaking’s directed questions, we urge the department to remove a provision from the final rule that would exempt indoor workers engaged in sedentary work from the rule’s protections. As defined in the regulation, sedentary workers would include workers who spend up to one-third of their shift lifting light objects. This definition is overly broad, and would mean that many workers in warehouses and manufacturing plants may be left without basic protections, even when their workplaces reach unsafe temperatures that place them at risk of illness, injury, or death. This exemption would increase disparities in workplace safety for low-wage workers of color and workers with disabilities in particular. In addition, we urge the department not to include an exemption for sedentary work in outdoor settings, which the proposed rulemaking suggests is being contemplated. Including such an exemption would put many agricultural and construction workers at risk.
Second, we urge the department to strengthen protections for workers to take rest breaks when the temperature is above 80 degrees. As proposed, the rule requires mandatory rest breaks at the high-heat level of 90 degrees, but at the lower heat trigger threshold of 80 degrees employers must only “allow and encourage” rest breaks. As the proposed rulemaking itself makes clear, extensive research shows that at temperatures of 80 degrees and above, risks of heat-related injury and illness increase. Workers deserve the right to take paid rest breaks when their health and safety is at risk. The final rule should be clarified to ensure that instead of merely “allowing and encouraging” worker breaks when the temperature is above 80 degrees, employers must be required to respect the right of workers to take breaks at this temperature.
We enthusiastically support the department’s proposal to protect worker health and safety through these proposed regulations. These rules will strengthen the basic rights of millions of workers, and especially workers who are people of color, workers with low incomes, immigrant workers, workers with disabilities, and other workers who belong to communities our coalition represents. These groups have long borne the historic and ongoing burden of systemic discrimination and are among those who would benefit the most from these proposed workplace protections. A federal heat standard will make much-needed progress toward ensuring that all workers are treated with dignity and are able to enjoy basic protections for their health and safety in the workplace. These updates are critical to supporting the economic security of working people, addressing historic inequities, and building an inclusive economy that works for all.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments on the proposal and for taking the time to consider our views, especially regarding how these proposed changes will impact the health, safety, and economic security of the communities our coalition represents. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Peggy Ramin, senior policy counsel for economic justice, at [email protected] with any questions.
Sincerely,
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Adasina Social Capital
Adrian Dominican Sisters, Portfolio Advisory Board
Advance ESG
African American Policy Forum
AFT
AJL Foundation
Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Inc.
American Friends Service Committee
Arizona Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander for Equity
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance-AFL-CIO (APALA)
Association for Special Children and Families
Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP)
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Center for Progressive Reform
Central Florida Jobs With Justice
Change the Chamber
Chicago Jobs Council
Coalition on Human Needs
Communications Workers of America (CWA)
Congregation of St. Joseph
CorpGov.net
Cupit’s Angel Wings
Daughters of Charity, Province of St. Louise
Endangered Species Coalition
Equal Justice Society
Equality California
Family Values @ Work
Figure 8 Investment Strategies
Franciscan Sisters of Allegany NY
HenderWorks, Inc.
Hispanic Federation
Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative
Human Rights First
Impact Fund
Impact Investors, Inc
Indivisible
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE)
Japanese American Citizens League
Jobs With Justice
Justice for Migrant Women
Latino Farmers & Ranchers International, Inc.
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
Maine People’s Alliance
Majority Action
Mercy Investment Services, Inc.
National Action Network
National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB)
National Black Worker Center
National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD)
National Education Association
National Employment Lawyers Association
National Institute for Workers’ Rights
National Organization for Women
Natural Investments
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Nia Impact Capital
NorthStar Asset Management
Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment
Oxfam America
PAVE
People Power United
Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK)
Public Citizen
Region VI Coalition for Responsible Investment
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
School Sisters of Notre Dame Collective Investment Fund
Seventh Generation Interfaith Coalition for Responsible Investment
Silver State Equality
Sisters of Mary Reparatrix
Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt, NY
Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia
Sisters of the Humility of Mary
Southern Environmental Law Center
Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice
The Episcopal Church (DFMS)
The Legal Aid Society
The Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United)
The Seva Foundation
Transformative Wealth Management, LLC
UFW Foundation
United Church of Christ
United Steelworkers
Welcoming America
Wenatchee for Immigrant Justice
William E. Morris Institute for Justice
Women Employed
Worksafe
Zevin Asset Management