EMPLOYER ALERT High Heat Warning and Heat Illness Prevention
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As a seasoned California employment law attorney I have seen firsthand what can happen if employers don’t follow the law to ensure employee safety.
As the weather varies during the summer months, heat waves can cause severe illness! The California Department of Industrial Relations Cal/OSHA enforces safety measures that protect workers.
When an excess heat watch is issued in California, Cal/OSHA reminds all employers to protect outdoor workers from heat illness. Additionally, the National Weather Service maintains a summary webpage of California hazardous weather advisories and warnings, including dangerous hot weather, that employers can review for updated information about local weather events.
The California Code of Regulations (CCR) section 3395, California’s heat illness prevention standard, applies to all outdoor worksites and outdoor workers, including those in construction, landscaping, agriculture, transportation of agriculture products, and construction material or other heavy industrial and commercial products.
Additionally, workers who spend a significant amount of time working outdoors, such as groundskeepers, security guards, public works employees, or workers in non-air-conditioned vehicles, are covered under CCR §3395.
According to Cal/OSHA’s most recent news release, “Employers in California must take steps to protect outdoor workers from heat illness by training all employees in the signs of heat illness and how to prevent getting sick, as well as providing and encouraging the use of water and cool-down rest breaks in the shade.”
To prevent heat illness, the law requires employers to provide outdoor workers with fresh drinking water, access to shade when the temperature reaches 80 degrees and higher, and cool-down rest breaks in addition to regular rest breaks.
Additionally, employers must maintain a written heat-illness prevention plan containing information and training on the signs of heat illness and what to do in an emergency.
Further, in certain industries, the law requires additional measures to protect workers when the outdoor temperature reaches or exceeds 95 degrees.
Employers with outdoor workers must take the following steps to prevent heat illness:
Plan:
Develop and implement an effective written heat illness prevention plan that includes emergency response procedures.
Train:
Train all employees and supervisors on heat illness prevention.
Provide water:
Provide drinking water that is fresh, pure, suitably cool, and free of charge so that each worker can drink at least one quart per hour, and encourage workers to do so.
Allow for Rest:
Encourage workers to take a cool-down rest in the shade for at least five minutes when they feel the need to do so to protect themselves from overheating.
Provide Shade:
Provide shade when workers request it or when temperatures exceed 80 degrees.
To learn more about heat illness prevention and how to comply with Cal/OSHA’s regulations, contact our experienced California Employment Attorneys, contact us to schedule a free consultation.
