Workers who swelter in outdoor jobs will have new safety protections including water and shade breaks under a Miami-Dade County ordinance that easily won preliminary approval Tuesday.
The vote on the first-of-its-kind measure came as the area hit a record 38th day in a row where the heat index — the ‘feels like’ temperature — was 100 degrees F or hotter.
Last week, a farm worker collapsed and died in a field in Homestead in what appeared to be a heat stroke incident, but the medical examiner’s office had not yet established a cause of death, Miami-Dade police said.
The measure would cover construction and agricultural workers, but exempts employees of condominium and homeowners associations. Violations could subject employers to fines of $500 or more for repeated offenses, and could lead to the loss of County contracts.
The safety measures include:
Representatives from labor unions spoke in favor of the measure, introduced by Commissioner Kionne McGhee.
Only a few states have specific provisions covering outdoor workers, although employers generally are required to maintain safe workplaces under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. President Joe Biden directed OSHA to develop specific standards and a permanent rule is being developed. In Texas,...
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