The U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce should reject the Heat Workforce Standards Act (H.R. 6123), scheduled to be marked up today, 65 groups said in a letter sent to the committee. The bill would prohibit the Secretary of Labor from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing a federal heat injury and illness prevention standard, or any substantially similar measure.
“Workers have no control over extreme heat, and many are unable to refuse hazardous assignments without jeopardizing their livelihoods,” the letter reads. “Congress should not respond to an escalating occupational hazard by permanently removing the Department of Labor’s authority to address it.”
In the wake of a nationwide heat dome that sent workers to emergency rooms across the country just three weeks ago, the committees should reject any legislation that would permanently prohibit federal workplace heat protections. Data from the Centers for Disease Control’s Heat and Health Tracker show that emergency department visits for heat-related illness rose sharply across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic during the first week of July. Postal carriers, delivery drivers, warehouse workers, and manufacturing employees were hospitalized, and in some tragic cases, lost their lives.
Heat-related deaths in the U.S. have more than doubled since 1999, and extreme heat now claims more lives each year than any other weather-related hazard. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates that its heat standard would protect approximately 36 million workers. Public Citizen has previously estimated that a comprehensive federal heat standard could prevent at least 50,000 heat-related injuries and illnesses each year.