Safety Alert: High Heat Advisory
Cal/OSHA urges employers to protect workers from heat illness
Dangerous heat is expected to continue through the week, with triple-digit temperatures forecast across parts of Southern California, the Central Valley and the Sacramento Valley. Hotter-than-normal conditions are also expected in interior portions of the Bay Area and Central Coast. (Source: US Weather Service)
As hot temperatures continue across California this week, Cal/OSHA is reminding employers to take required steps to prevent heat illness, including providing workers with adequate water, shade or cool-down areas, rest breaks and training.
Heat Illness
Heat illness is a serious and potentially fatal workplace hazard. Under Cal/OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention Standards, employers are legally required to protect workers from heat-related illness in both indoor and outdoor workplaces. Employers may be covered by both the indoor and outdoor regulations if they have workers in each setting. See the Comparison Chart of Indoor and Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention Standards for more information.
Cal/OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment regulation applies to most indoor workplaces, such as restaurants, warehouses and manufacturing facilities. When the temperature in an indoor workplace reaches 82 degrees, employers must take steps to protect workers from heat illness. Some of the requirements include providing water, rest, cool-down areas and training.
To prevent heat illness at outdoor worksites, the law requires employers to provide outdoor workers fresh water, access to shade (which must be in place when temperatures exceed 80 degrees) and, whenever requested by a worker, cool-down rest breaks in addition to regular breaks. In certain industries, when the temperature at outdoor worksites reaches or exceeds 95 degrees, Cal/OSHA’s standard requires additional protections. The industries with additional high-heat requirements are agriculture, construction, landscaping, oil and gas extraction and transportation of agricultural products, construction materials or other heavy materials. High-heat procedures include ensuring employees are observed regularly for signs of heat illness and establishing effective communication methods.
Employers in both settings must also maintain a written prevention plan and provide effective training so supervisors and employees can recognize the common signs and symptoms of heat illness and know what to do in an emergency.
Additional Resources
Visit the UCON Contractor Resource Library to customize the Heat Illness Prevention plan for your company.
For more information, or support related to Safety Regulations and Advocacy, contact Mike Donlon at (916) 834-1896, or United Contractors (925) 855-7900.
Cal/OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention special emphasis program includes enforcement of the heat standards as well as multilingual outreach and training programs for California’s employers and workers. Details on heat illness prevention requirements, training materials and tools are available on Cal/OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention web page and at 99calor.org.
Cal/OSHA has established the Heat Illness Prevention (HIP) Network, a voluntary partnership aimed at increasing awareness among employers and workers about the importance of preventing heat illness. To join the HIP Network, email HIPNetwork@dir.ca.gov.
