n August 12, 20222, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a citation to a farm labor contractor alleging violations for exposing workers to high ambient outdoor heat following the death of a worker on a strawberry farm in Florida. The citation serves as warning for employers, particularly those in warm climates, of OSHA’s enforcement approach following the April 2022 launch of the agency’s new three-year national emphasis program (NEP) on indoor and outdoor heat-related hazards, particularly with regard to how working in the sunlight can create hazardous conditions.

Background

The OSHA citation centers on an alleged heat-related incident that occurred on April 5, 2022 at a strawberry farm in Duette, Florida, in which a worker died after “exhibit[ing] symptoms of heat exhaustion such as fatigue, weakness, and disorientation.” OSHA alleged that farm workers were exposed to high ambient heat in the sun on the day in question, performing job duties that included eight hours of harvesting strawberries and one hour of pulling plastic form plant beds.

OSHA alleged that on that day in April 2022, temperatures rose to 89F. More specifically, the citation alleged the WetBulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), which is a measure of the heat stress in direct sunlight, ranged between 77F to 86.9F during the time employees were performing “moderate manual labor” outdoors while wearing “long sleeves and pants.” OSHA alleged that “such exposures are likely to lead to the...

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