With summer fast approaching, OSHA has ramped up investigations into heat-related injuries in the workplace. In furtherance of President Biden’s heat illness initiative, on October 27, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking regarding a future standard requiring employers to prevent heat-related illness.
On April 8, 2022, OSHA issued a new national emphasis program (NEP) on indoor and outdoor heat-related hazards that expands on the agency’s ongoing heat-related illness prevention campaign. The NEP took effect immediately and will remain in effect for three years unless canceled or superseded by another directive. It applies to all industries (general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture), but it specifically targets industries exposed to heat-related hazards.
The NEP applies when employees are exposed to outdoor heat at or above 80F with the humidity at or above 40 percent. This program does not apply to incidental exposure, which exists when an employee is not required to perform a work activity outdoors for more than fifteen minutes in any sixty-minute period.
OSHA has only issued approximately 400 heat-related citations since 2018. Under the NEP, OSHA plans to double the amount of heat-related inspections it conducts and issue more heat-related citations to employers.
Programmed and Unprogrammed Inspections
OSHA will conduct programmed inspections when the...
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