Article ID: 7652bf6560c1a04d31abcbde6b9c0b3900ceaafe215b3c771d09a6bb9a2c2310
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More workplace heat protections enacted - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers More workplace heat protections enacted by Louise Esola Workplace Safety Jul 8, 2026 New York City and Colorado are moving ahead with workplace heat protections as employers face an increasingly fragmented patchwork of state and local requirements, while a federal heat standard remains unfinished. With nine states now having policies in place, the moves are a sign that employers everywhere should take notice of the heat dangers facing workers, experts say. “Heat illness prevention is moving from a seasonal workplace safety issue to a more formal compliance and enforcement issue,” said Joy Chin, principal in the Melville, New York, office of law firm Jackson Lewis. Employers should prepare before temperatures spike, she said, by identifying heat hazards, implementing controls, training supervisors and employees, and documenting their efforts. “The first heat wave is not the time to start writing or thinking about it,” Ms. Chin said. Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has not finalized a federal heat standard proposed in 2024, the agency updated its National Emphasis Program for outdoor and indoor heat hazards in April, extending the enforcement initiative for another five years. The program targets 55 high-risk industries and calls for heat-focused inspections during certain extreme-temperature conditions. Employers should not assume that the absence of a final federal standard means heat is not an enforcement issue, said Felicia Watson, a Washington-based senior counsel at Littler Mendelson. “The emphasis program means that they’re going to be looking at certain things at job sites when they go out: access to shade, access to water, rest breaks,” she said. Jessica E. Martinez, Los Angeles-based executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, applauded recent efforts and is urging employers and other jurisdictions to act. “The New York executive order is a landmark moment for worker safety, because really, what it is showing is that local governments do not have to wait for federal action to protect workers,” she said. New York’s June 22 executive order directs city agencies to develop heat illness prevention guidance for indoor and outdoor workers and heat plans for municipal employees and contractors. Colorado’s House Bill 26-1272, signed June 4 and effective Aug. 12, expands the state’s extreme-temperature initiative beyond agriculture to workers across industries and addresses both heat and cold exposure. “For the rest of the country, it’s still a work in progress,” Ms. Martinez said. “Workers should not be waiting, cannot wait. We do need something that’s enforceable now.” For multistate employers, the developments add another layer to compliance planning, said Margo Wolf O’Donnell, Chicago-based co-chair, labor & employment practice group at Benesch. “They should be mindful of the fact that the states and municipalities have decided to step in in this area,” she said. “The state legislatures or the cities are looking to impose certain regulations that you may not see in OSHA.” Heat complaints can also raise issues beyond occupational safety and workers compensation, including potential accommodation obligations for workers with medical conditions that make them more susceptible to heat, Ms. O’Donnell said. “There’s a complaint about heat,” she said, adding that employers should assess legal compliance and determine whether “there is any sort of other issue involved here, such as the ADA or something else.” Employers should also consider heat exposure more broadly rather than focusing only on outdoor work, Ms. Chin said. “It’s not just about outdoor employees and outdoor heat,” she said. “Indoor environments can be just as much of a workplace issue,” including warehouses, kitchens and laundries. Employers should not wait for more prescriptive rules before acting, said Stefan Borovina, New York-based of counsel with Ogletree Deakins. Written heat illness prevention plans and training can address workplace-specific hazards, including hydration, rest, shade, symptoms of heat illness and emergency response. Employers in states without specific heat regulations should also review OSHA’s existing guidance and assess where workers are exposed to heat, Ms. Watson said. Employers should consider whether workers are outdoor or indoors without air conditioning, whether they have access to shade or other cool areas during breaks, and whether employees and supervisors are trained to recognize symptoms of heat illness, she added. Even without a federal heat standard, employers remain responsible for workplace safety under OSHA’s general duty clause, Ms. Watson said. That means employers should be prepared to provide cool-down breaks when needed and, in extreme circumstances, consider whether work can safely continue. “What you can do is be as proactive as possible, and understand, especially with respect to heat, it can come on very quickly,” she said. 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