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09/30/2024
OSHA Proposed Rule for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention
OSHA has finally issued a proposed rule for heat injury and illness prevention. The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on August 30, 2024. The purpose of this article is to provide a summary of the requirements of the new standard. The proposed rule will become effective sixty days after the final rule is published in the Federal Register. Employers will be required to comply with all requirements of the new standard no later than 150 days after the date of publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. Comments on the proposed rule may be filed with OSHA by December 30, 2024. While the new rule has been published under the general industry standard, 29 CFR 1910.148, it will also be enforced in several other enumerated specific industries .For example, it will be enforced for shipyard employment under standard 29 CFR 1915.95 and it will also be enforced in the construction industry under 29 CFR 1926.67. Beyond this, it will also be enforced under the standards for marine terminals, longshoring, and agriculture.
The new standard will not apply to work activities for which there is no reasonable expectation of exposure at or above the initial heat trigger, which has been defined as 80°F. It will also not apply to short duration employee exposures at or above the initial heat trigger of fifteen minutes or less in any sixty minutes. And it will not apply to work activities performed in indoor work areas or vehicles where air conditioning consistently keeps the ambient temperature below 80°F. Finally, it will not apply to telework activities or sedentary work activities that only involve some combination of sitting with occasional standing and walking for brief periods of time and occasional lifting of objects weighing less than ten pounds.