A critical federal oversight mechanism for workplace heat safety expires on April 8, leaving millions of laborers without targeted protections as the summer season begins.

OSHA’s National Emphasis Program (NEP) on heat, launched in 2022, provided the agency with a framework to proactively inspect high-risk worksites. Without the program, National COSH warns that employer accountability will drop just as temperatures nationwide begin to climb.

A federal program aimed at protecting workers from heat-related injuries is set to expire April 8, raising concerns about enforcement gaps heading into the summer months.

In 2022, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched the national emphasis program, allowing the agency to inspect high-risk workplaces to prevent heat-related injuries and deaths. The program resulted in about 7,000 inspections in industries with high risks of exposure to extreme heat.

Jessica E. Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, said allowing the program to expire at the start of summer is dangerous and unacceptable. Providing workers with water, shade, rest breaks and acclimatization periods are simple, evidence-based steps to reduce heat-related injuries.

A non-profit organization dedicated to promoting safe, healthy, and just working conditions is warning that the expiration today OSHA’s National Emphasis Program (NEP) on heat will leave millions of workers without enforceable federal protections.

With hot temperatures already here in many parts of the U.S. the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) is calling for a comprehensive heat standard that requires employers to protect workers from extreme heat. 

OSHA’s heat exposure NEP, launched in 2022, created a nationwide enforcement mechanism that allowed the agency to proactively inspect high-risk workplaces and prevent heat-related illnesses, injuries, and deaths. Since its implementation, the program has led to approximately 7,000 inspections in industries with the highest exposure to extreme heat.

Temperatures in the Phoenix area climb above 100 degrees 111 days out of the year, on average — some parts of Arizona endure even longer heat seasons. And more than 1 million people in the state work in jobs where they’re regularly exposed to these extreme temperatures, according to an estimate from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“You take a breath and feel the heat go into your lungs and your whole body, drying out your muscles. It’s just indescribable,” said Trina David, a longtime crew chief at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. “Your shoes melt every summer walking across the tarmac because it is so hot.”

Many workers face health consequences from working in these conditions.

Workers at a Panda Express in Downtown Phoenix have walked off the job, alleging unsafe heat conditions inside the restaurant and calling on state regulators to investigate. The Panda Express is staffed by Aramark and is part of the Arizona State University Dining Hall. 

“It is suffocating”, said Vanessa Martinez, one of the Aramark workers at ASU the complaint was filed on behalf of. “I dread going into work most days. I have asthma flare-ups, and they get worse while I’m cooking. I’ve broken out in hives, and I was hospitalized for dehydration; the heat is just unbearable.”

Arizona’s first triple-digit temperatures of the year arrived last week, and Yuma briefly became one of the hottest places in the country. It was conditions that advocates say are especially dangerous for the people working outdoors in the region’s fields.

Jazmin Moreno with the nonprofit Agave Community Threads said volunteers organized an emergency phone bank last Thursday, placing more than 100 calls to state leaders, including the governor’s office and officials connected to the Industrial Commission of Arizona.

“We have been in a very long battle with our state legislator here and the Industrial Commission of Arizona and the governor’s office to demand an enforceable heat protection standard that is going to protect all outdoor workers and indoor workers subject to extreme heat,” Moreno said.

Arizona workers may soon get new heat protections on the job, but critics say they won’t mean much without the force of law.

A state advisory committee voted Tuesday to recommend proposed guidelines from the state’s Workplace Heat Safety Task Force. The guidelines aim to provide workers with access to cool water, shade, and rest. Employers would also put in place heat-illness prevention plans. A separate group called the Arizona Heat Standards Coalition has been pushing for enforceable rules. Tuesday’s vote left them frustrated.

Arizona may not get formal regulations to protect workers from extreme heat on the job anytime soon. On Tuesday, the second step in a three-part process for establishing a new heat safety standard fell short of what many labor rights groups were hoping for.

An advisory committee to the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health on Tuesday voted to recommend the Industrial Commission of Arizona consider new workplace heat safety guidelines. But the committee did not specify how Arizona employers should be held accountable for following those guidelines.

In that climate, people take dangerous jobs and stay silent about hazards. They skip water breaks in extreme heat, avoid asking for training and keep quiet about faulty equipment because they cannot risk losing a shift. Fear of retaliation has created a chilling effect in some of the most hazardous industries in America.

The city of Phoenix is adding more protections for outdoor workers exposed to extreme heat. The updates to Phoenix’s workplace heat rules come as the Industrial Commission of Arizona is considering implementing heat safety rules that would apply to workers statewide. That process is ongoing.

National COSH joined Arizona workers and advocates at an ADOSH public hearing to call for a statewide, enforceable heat standard to protect workers from extreme heat exposure.

Testimony at the hearing focused on the need for guaranteed access to water, shade, and rest for workers exposed to extreme heat. Participants argued that voluntary guidance and reliance on OSHA’s General Duty Clause have not adequately protected workers from heat-related illness and injury.

Dozens of workers and safety advocates packed a meeting on Wednesday at the state’s Industrial Commission, pushing back against proposed heat protection guidelines.

Workers say the guidelines don’t go far enough to protect them in the dangerous summer heat. They instead want to see state officials adopt formal rules with penalties attached.

They are part of the Arizona Heat Standards Coalition, which delivered a petition to the governor recently calling for enforceable heat standards so that employers who don’t follow them can be held accountable.

Various labor organizations filed a request for Gov. Katie Hobbs to sign an executive order to help protect workers exposed to dangerous high temperatures. Interview with Monica Sandschafer from Mi Familia en Acción. (Interview in Spanish).
 

Jazmin Moreno Dominguez, an organizer with Agave Community Threads, read aloud statements the group collected from farmworkers in six Arizona cities over the summer.

The Arizona Heat Standards Coalition delivered a petition to Governor Katie Hobbs' office Tuesday, pushing for enforceable rules on water, shade, and breaks for farmworkers, construction workers, and welders.
 

The Arizona Heat Standards Coalition gathered at the state Capitol Tuesday morning with labor leaders, workers and other supporters to advocate for specific heat safety protocols and regulations. The coalition submitted a petition with over 1,500 signatures to Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Industrial Commission of Arizona.

[Trina] David and others gathered outside the state Capitol, just 15 minutes from her job, on Dec. 2 in support of heat-related workplace protections. The group, members of Arizona’s Heat Standards Coalition, delivered a petition to Gov. Katie Hobbs ahead of new heat safety recommendations expected by the end of the month.

The Arizona Heat Standards Coalition and labor leaders delivered a signed petition to the Capitol asking for enforceable heat protections for workers.

On Tuesday morning, labor groups and organizations part of the Arizona Heat Standards Coalition dropped off a petition to the Governor’s Office, demanding enforceable heat protections for workers.