Inspection Goals Removed from Trump Administration Heat Program

Climate & Comp

Washington, DC (WorkersCompensation.com) – The Trump Administration has eliminated inspection metrics from its program aimed at keeping worker safe from extreme heat, as states and companies move to strengthen protections.

In April, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a revised National Emphasis Program for Heat. The program was originally launched by the Biden Administration in 2022 to increase on-site inspections of industries where workers were at “high-risk” for heat exposure. That emphasis program set a goal of each OSHA regional office increasing on-site inspections by 100 percent over their 2017 to 2022 baseline. The revised program eliminates that language and does not set any other metrics for the program

Instead, the program will now focus on a “continued need for heat-related outreach and compliance assistance activities, as well as on-site consultation visits and programmed enforcement to lower reported fatalities, hospitalizations and complaints or referrals to OSHA.”

The documentation for the program does say on-site inspections will get priority when workers are sickened or killed by extreme heat, but it is not clear from the documents whether the agency will continue to proactively inspect hot worksites as it previously did. Those inspections began in 2022 to ensure employers were allowing workers water and rest breaks prior to anyone falling ill.

Heat is the number one weather-related cause of on-the-job worker injury, and OSHA has long been criticized for not having specific regulations protecting workers from the heat, and for the agency relying on its “general duty” clause which requires employers to ensure workplaces are free of “recognized hazards.”  

OSHA had recommended employers could comply with the general duty clause by providing workers with water rest and shade, enforcement was difficult without specific standards. Prior to the 2022 National Emphasis Program, the agency had mostly only inspected worksites and cited employers after workers were sickened or killed by the heat.

Prior to the National Emphasis Program, OSHA conducted only 200 inspection annually, including roughly 15 related to on-the-job fatalities. Between April 12022 and December 2024, OSHA conducted around 7,000 heat-related inspections, with only 147 of them being related to on-the-job deaths. Those inspections resulted in 60 heat citations for violations of the general duty clause and 1,392 Hazard Alert letters to employers outlining steps they could take to keep workers safe.

While OSHA has not released data on the number of inspections performed by the agency since January 2025, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) released information in February showing the number of OSHA inspections between April and September 2025 was 19 percent lower than during the same period in 2024.

In July 2024, OSHA proposed a heat rule that would require employers to provide workers with water and cool places to rest when temperatures rise above 80 degrees. However, the Trump administration has not taken any action on the proposal since holding a two-week-long hearing last June. Since then, industry representatives have pushed the agency to finalize a weaker version of the rule.

But across the country, states, municipalities and companies are taking steps to protect workers from heat-related illnesses on the job.

In California this month, Cal/OSHA reminded employers across the state to take steps to prevent heat illness at indoor and outdoor workplaces. With temperatures rising into the triple digits in some areas of the state, Cal/OSHA said it was on employers to remain vigilant and ensure workers have access to water, shade or cool-down areas, and adequate rest breaks.

Under Cal/OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention Standards, employers are legally required to protect workers from heat-related illness in indoor and outdoor workplaces. The regulation applies to most indoor workplaces, such as restaurants, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities, and requires that when temperature reach 82 degrees, employers must take steps to protect workers from heat illness.

For outdoor worksites, the law requires employers to provide outdoor workers with 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. And for certain industries, like agriculture, construction, landscaping, oil and gas extraction, and transportation of agricultural, construction or other heavy materials, additional protections are required when the outdoor worksites reach or exceed 95 degrees. Additionally, employers in must maintain a written prevention plan with effective training for supervisors and employees to recognize the signs and symptoms of illness, as well as what to do in case of an emergency.

In 2025, seven states had adopted occupational heat safety regulations, including California, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Last year 18 states proposed legislation to regulate heat safety standards, including Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky and Arizona.

So far this year, at least 12 states have advanced new or revised workplace heat safety regulations or statutory legislation, including Virginia, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

New York City is considering its own legislation. The New York City Council is considering protections for construction workers with legislation proposed last year. The bill would require construction sites to create and adhere to a heat action plan that details measures to prevent heat illness among construction workers, including water breaks, access to shade, personal protective equipment and medical monitoring when temperatures exceed 85 degrees.

Unions said they are working with New York City Hall to advance the legislation.

“As we head into the summer months and face more frequent 90- and 100-degree days, it is imperative that we put safeguards in place to keep workers safe,” David Bolger, business manager of the Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York and Long Island, said.

In York County, Pa., worker with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation either change their work start times or wear cool rags around their necks to deal with the heat.

York County Maintenance Manager Brock Berwager told WPMT managers and workers have to be smart to stay ahead of the heat on 90-degree days.

“Usually when we see weather like this in the forecast, we do daily safety talks in the morning with the crew, reminding them to stay hydrated, we generally take extra breaks during projects like this,” he said.

The crews use asphalt emulsion and stone aggregate to repair roads which take time to set. That means more time under the sun.

“One of [the] things we try to provide for our employees is the cool rags to keep around their neck,” Berwager said. Additionally, the county will make changes in the start times and end times for shifts, depending on how hot it is. It’s about adjusting schedules and knowing what to look out for, he said.

“We try to have multiple flaggers so we can switch out, they can take multiple breaks, same way with the equipment operators, but everyone has to lookout for one another, and everybody has to know the symptoms that’re encountered with heat exhaustion,” Berwager said.

And in Georgia, even local a restaurant is thinking about the heat.

In Springfield, Ga., Roy’s Barbeque said they would shorten their hours after temperatures in their kitchen spiked. Mandy Chambliss, one of Roy’s co-owners, told WSAV the restaurant would begin closing at 2 p.m. due to the rising temperature inside the kitchen to provide a safe work environment for her staff.

“It was hot,” Chambliss said. “It was really hot. I can’t expect my employees to power through. We don’t power through.”

Chambliss said even with the lights and ovens turned off the restaurant can get to temperatures in the high 80s by the afternoon. Those conditions aren’t sustainable for the workers, she said, and the shorter hours gives them time to rest.

“If you’re working every single day and you’re getting in the kitchen, you’re just moving as fast as you can move to get everything out,” Chambliss said. “You got to have that extra day for your body to regulate itself so that you don’t have the health problems.”

Her decision came from personal experience, she said. When the restaurant was just a food truck, she experienced heat stroke.

“I had no idea who I was, where I was or and it was a struggle just to get from the food truck to that ditch where I ended up when the ambulance showed up,” Chambliss said. “It was it was a learning experience. I think the best way to put it you had to stay hydrated.”

Chambliss said employees are also provided electrolytes to stay hydrated. It is the first time in the restaurant’s 12 years that it has closed early, and Chambliss said she would continue to evaluate conditions to make sure none of her employees are put at risk.

“We call it hitting the wall; you hit the wall, and you just can’t make it,” Chambliss said. “I knew that we were in trouble and that’s there’s no reason for it. So, we had to call it. We just had to.”

Employees are being given the opportunity to come in early and prep to make up for any loss in hours they might incur, she said. 

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