California adopts the Indoor Heat Safety Rule

The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board approved an indoor heating standard on June 20 aimed at protecting indoor workers from heat illness, the state Department of Industrial Relations announced June 21.

The state already has a standard for preventing heat illness in outdoor settings.

The new regulation requires that indoor work areas, whenever possible, be cooled to below 30 degrees Fahrenheit when workers are present. Indoor work areas where employees work in areas with high heat radiation or must wear protective clothing that limits heat dissipation must be cooled to below 82 degrees when possible. Other requirements will include the provision of cooling areas, methods for cooling work areas under specified conditions, water, rest and training.

However, local and state correctional facilities, as well as emergency operations directly related to the protection of life or property, are exempt from indoor heating regulations.

The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) develops industry regulations for local and state correctional facilities to protect their employees from indoor heat hazards. Cal/OSHA will continue to investigate potential indoor heat violations in exempt workplaces under existing regulations, such as the Injury and Illness Prevention Program Standard.

The new standard will apply to most indoor workplaces, including manufacturing plants, restaurants and warehouses.

Once the Board has approved “Prevention of Heat Illness in Enclosed Workplaces” (California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 3396), the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has 30 business days to review and approve or deny the proposal. The Standards Board requested that the regulation enter into force immediately after approval by the OAL.

No federal heat standard

There is no applicable federal standard for the prevention of heat illness, although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has prepared a draft proposed standard for the prevention of heat illness in outdoor and indoor workplaces, which is under regulatory review in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs White House.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) first developed recommendations for the federal standard in 1972. The Institute updated its recommendations in 1986 and again in 2016.

OSHA issued a 2021 advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comment on heat-related issues, including the best metric for defining and assessing heat-related hazards – ambient temperatures, heat index, or ball temperature wet bulb thermometer (WBGT).

The agency also launched the National Indoor and Outdoor Heat Empowerment Program (NEP) in April 2022, which includes inspection and enforcement. OSHA cites employers who often exercise their rights under the general duties clause of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act following hospitalizations or fatalities.

The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission regularly overrides citations to OSHA’s general duty clause for heat hazards, calling the agency’s use of the clause a “hook” or “gimmick” for hazards without established standards.

In 2019, the commission withdrew OSHA’s citation of the general duties clause for a roofing contractor in connection with the death of a worker, disputing OSHA’s conclusion that an excessive heat hazard existed at the time of the worker’s fall.

Last year, the review board rejected OSHA citations for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), finding that the Postal Service’s precarious finances make OSHA’s recommended cost-cutting measures economically unfeasible.