Workers, Employers Brace for Record Heat

Climate & Comp

New York City, NY (WorkersCompensation.com) – New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order this summer to protect workers from extreme heat, one of several political leaders to act as a heat dome settles over much of the eastern half of the United States.

Workers, employers and leaders are preparing for triple digit heat over the holiday weekend, but in some areas, the lack of protective measures is leaving some workers scared for their health and safety.

In anticipation of temperatures reaching record territory through July 6, Mamdani signed an executive order on June 22 designed to implement safeguards for the 1.4 million New Yorkers who work outdoors. The guidance includes heat illness prevention plans and a new public health research to address the issue in the future.

Joined by labor unions, community organizations, city agency commissioners and workers, Mamdani said the order underscored his commitment to working people in the city. The Executive Order builds on existing NYC Emergency Management’s (NYCEM) Beat the Heat program for residents by extending similar attention and resources to workers.

“No one should have to choose between their paycheck and their health,” Mamdani said. “The workers building our skyline, delivering our packages, selling food on our street corners and keeping this city running deserve to come home safe at the end of every shift. In the past, workers have borne the burden of extreme heat while the government looked the other way. We’re changing that because every worker’s life is worth protecting. As summer heats up, we’re taking a whole-of-government approach to keeping New Yorkers prepared, safe and cool.”

The order directed the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, NYCEM and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to develop and distribute multilingual heat safety guidance for outdoor workers and for mayoral agencies to develop and implement heat illness prevention plans for City employees and contractors. The order also directed the DOHMH to study the relationship between extreme heat and workers' compensation claims and evaluate whether heat illness should be designated a reportable health condition. Additionally, the Department of Buildings (DOB) was ordered to review and strengthen construction site heat safety requirements, with recommendations due by March 1, 2027.

Nearly a third of the city's workforce spends extended periods of time working outdoors each summer. With heat contributing to 500 deaths in New York City each year, the impact of the current heat wave could make heat one of the deadliest weather-related hazards facing New Yorkers, Mamdani’s office said.

“Heat has taken the lives of more New Yorkers than any other weather hazard, and the workers most exposed to it deserve real protection,” NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Christina Farrell said. “NYCEM coordinates the city's heat response every season, and under this Executive Order we will work alongside our partners to develop heat safety guidance, deliver it in the languages New Yorkers speak, and keep the public informed. This is a city and administration choosing to lead on protecting its workers, and Emergency Management is proud to be part of that work.”

On July 1, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield signed an executive order to protect workers and residents during extreme heat during periods. The order halts all water shutoffs across the city when temperatures hit 90 degrees or higher, as well as directing city departments to deploy resources to protect city workers and monitoring those city employees who work outside.

"The first responsibility of any government is the safety and wellbeing of its citizens and during this extreme heat, both are at risk,” Sheffield said in a statement. “Ensuring that our residents are safe and have relief from the heat is a community-wide responsibility.”

The order requires all city departments to adhere to and distribute extreme heat guidelines for workers, particularly those who work outdoors like police officers, firefighters and medics, road crews, garbage disposal workers and more.

On Friday, officials with the Freedom 250 celebration on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the Great American State Fair, temporarily closed the fair due to the heat. Reports indicated several of the booths had to close early because they did not have working air conditioning, And medical personnel at the fair have already been seen treating several fairgoers for heat exhaustion.

With temperatures expected to exceed 100 degrees in D.C. on July 4, officials put in place safety measures to protect attendees and workers, including cooling stations, free water, and delayed starts to the activities on the National Mall.

In Chicago, workers said they were taking measures to protect themselves.

Faheem Jackson told WBEZ Chicago that he was staying hydrated and taking breaks from work in the shade. This is his third construction season, he said.

“There is no staying cool right now,” said Jackson, 34. “The heat is no joke. I just try not to think about the time as it goes by.”

Temperatures around Chicago brought “dangerously” hot and humid conditions for more than four days, with temperatures expected to climb to 105.

The Illinois Department of Transportation said drivers should keep an eye out for pavement failures due to the heat, as well as the crews trying to make emergency repairs to them.

“While it’s impossible to predict where or when these failures might occur, maintenance personnel will be monitoring road conditions and on standby to make repairs as quickly as possible when they are observed and reported,” the department said in a statement. “The public is advised to anticipate slowing traffic and move over for workers and other emergency personnel when repairs are being made.”

In Alabama, road workers said heat exhaustion comes on quickly, even with precautions.

Jerrell Bowden told WBRC in Tuscaloosa, Ala., that he remembers the heat exhaustion he experienced while working on a road crew.

“It felt really weird… Like my whole body … kind of stopped,” Bowden, an Alabama Department of Transportation worker said. He was working during stifling heat four years ago, when the heat exhaustion overcame him. “My whole body just kind of sat down. I literally could not walk up four steps. I had to sit down and stop and one of the aides out there said ‘You don’t look good. Let me get you some water’.”

Within 15 minutes, he said, he began to feel better.

Bowden said now he ensures that he has plenty of water, and drinks with electrolytes for hydration.

It’s important for managers to know what employees are going through and keep an eye out for any changes. Ron Hooks, safety coordinator for AllWorld Project Management in Memphis, said his team leaders are trained to identify workers showing signs of heat stress.

“Heat stress ranges from excessive sweating, erratic behavior. That guy who’s normally in a good mood isn’t talking, acting a little weird. You want to be able to bring him to a cool space and try to cool him off,” Hooks said.

Hooks said during times of extreme heat workers are debriefed on the weather forecast at the start of each day and encouraged to take frequent hydration breaks on days of extreme heat.

“These checklists cover not only just the work we’re gonna get done, but what’s going on with the weather forecast,” Hooks said. “We’re going over constantly and reminding these guys to take heat precautions.”

But worker advocates say without federal regulations in place to protect workers during periods of extreme heat, it’s important for states to step up and set their own standards.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, employers are mandated to maintain workplaces “free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious harm to employees.” That includes heat, some say, but the guidelines are pretty vague. Without specific guidance from OSHA, states are left to regulate heat-related protections on their own. States like Colorado, Minnesota, Washington and Oregon, have put extreme temperature protections for workers in place. California’s regulations mandate that employers provide workers with training, water, and shade when temperature exceed 80 degrees.

Aaron Christy, the founder of Indy Roof and Restoration in Indianapolis, told the Indianapolis Star that he has rescheduled more than 12 roof jobs this week because of the heat – but not because any regulations required him to.

“There are no policies that we have to follow. Technically, we could install from zero degrees to 100 degrees,” he said. “It’s just not the right move.”

Since entering the industry in 2015, Christy said he’s watched workers develop heat stroke and others tumble off roofs. To prevent any accidents like that, when temperatures climb past 90 degrees, he reschedules big builds, or adjusts start times so that workers are not working during the hottest parts of the day.

In Baltimore, Md., worker unions are asking their members to take more breaks, monitor themselves for signs of heat illnesses and drink more water.

"We have to look out for each other," said Matthew Coster, the Baltimore City Firefighters Local 734 President. "Someone that's going to push themselves to the limit, you have to make sure that they, you know, take as many breaks as they can."

Two years after a Baltimore City Department of Public Works employee died from heat illness while on the job, that city’s DPW is taking extra precautions to protect their workforce. DPW employees are required to take breaks every hour and trucks are stocked with extra Gatorade and water. The city also checks to make sure air conditioning is working in all trucks and facilities.

Even some working inside are worried about their safety.

One Amazon worker at the Fulfilment Center in Suffolk, Va., told WVEC that temperatures inside the facility remain dangerously hot, despite new cooling equipment being installed recently. The employee, who wished to remain anonymous, told WVEC that workers have suffered through months of excessive heat and medical emergencies inside the warehouse.

She shared photos of a thermostat inside the building registering 90 degrees. The employee said temperatures vary significantly throughout the building but that break rooms throughout the facility range from between 80 and 90 degrees on hot days.

She said the heat has left workers drained and described experiencing dizziness and nausea while on the job.

"Water isn't enough," she wrote. "I'm worried about my safety.”

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