[co-author: Leah Shepherd]
States in the South, Midwest, and on the West Coast experienced extreme heat in the last two weeks of August 2026, highlighting the need for employers to comply with the federal Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act and state laws regarding heat illness prevention in the workplace.
Quick Hits
Parts of Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee experienced temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the last weeks of summer. As a result, parts of those states were under heat advisories, according to the National Weather Service.
Federal and State Action
Federal law does not have a permanent heat illness prevention standard, but employers are required under the OSH Act’s general duty clause to provide a workplace free of hazards that can cause serious harm or death, including indoor and outdoor heat hazards.
On April 10, 2026, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) updated its national emphasis program (NEP) for indoor and outdoor heat hazard prevention, providing new citation guidance and adding twenty-two industries targeted for enforcement. To prevent heat illness among workers,...
The Singapore Embassy in Jakarta denied unfounded social media claims that two Indonesian public figures visited the Singapore ambassador's residence on oct. 18. According to The Straits Times, th...