Despite extreme heat, outdoor laborers have few exposure protections, first days on the job can be the most dangerous

The Washington Post graph, from OSHA data

In a world that's getting hotter, laws don't protect most workers who are subject to extreme heat, and some are not even guaranteed water breaks, no matter the temperature, report Jacob Bogage and Eli Tan of The Washington Post. "Recent weeks have seen Earth's highest average temperatures on record, according to climate studies, yet most U.S. workers have few legal protections related to extreme heat conditions. The federal government is in the midst of a years-long process to draft heat safety rules, and only six states have their own regulations that guarantee laborers access to water, rest and shade — the three elements that medical professionals say can protect workers from heat illness." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website explains that heat-related illnesses, such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke, happen "when the body is not able to properly cool itself. While the body normally cools itself by sweating, during extreme heat, this might not be enough. In these cases, a person's body temperature rises faster than it can cool itself down. This can cause damage to the brain and other vital organs."

Heat exposure can lead to poor decision-making and indirectly cause accidents. "Between 2017 and 2022, the deaths of 121 workers on the job were officially attributed directly to heat, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which says that number is almost surely an undercount because heat-related deaths are often blamed on other workplace accidents or underlying health conditions." Elizabeth Strater, director of strategic campaigns for the United Farm Workers, told the Post: "You are already reacting more slowly, and you are making different choices than you would. A lot of people become irritable at this point, they’re not going to be taking the advice of the people around them." "

Some states have removed or rejected heat protections. "In Texas, lawmakers nullified heat safety ordinances in Dallas and Austin as part of a sweeping statute that stripped local governments' rights to regulate workplace issues. . . . . The Texas legislature found those and other local workplace ordinances too burdensome on employers. . . . Texas is the only state that doesn't guarantee workers' compensation, where workers are paid if they get injured or sick on the job." Bogage and Tan write. "Legislators in Florida, where 11 workers died of heat-induced causes since 2017, according to OSHA data, rejected legislation that required employers to implement outdoor heat exposure safety training programs, provide cool drinking water, shade and rest breaks in hot conditions."

"The most dangerous workplaces during heat waves are outdoor sites," the Post reports. "According to OSHA data, the three most fatal heat-related jobs are construction, agricultural work and landscaping, and among these jobs, OSHA says 50 to 70 percent of heat fatalities occur within a worker's first few days. . . . In Inman, Neb., in July 2019, a worker collapsed and died in the extreme heat after digging holes next to telephone poles for 11 hours on his first shift, the agency found. 'The body needs to build a tolerance to the heat gradually over time,' according to OSHA's website, a process called 'acclimatization.'. . . The agency, along with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, says acclimatization programs should last five days, where workers start with 20 percent of their normal workload and gradually increase."