'President Biden and OSHA have the opportunity to protect workers and to save lives,' said RepCasar. 'Greg Abbott will be on the wrong side of history.'
"In the past month, more than 55 million people were under heat alerts due to a heat wave spanning from Arizona to the Florida coast," the letter observes."If a strong federal heat standard that includes routine breaks for rest, shade, and hydration is enacted this year, it would save lives across the country, while preventing any other statewide attempts to limit local heat protections.
" "I urge the administration to move quickly to create this national heat standard to protect workers on the job." The letter was co-led by Reps. Judy Chu , Sylvia Garcia , Raúl Grijalva , and Bobby Scott , along with Sens. Sherrod Brown , Catherine Cortez Masto , Alex Padilla , and“These heatwaves are dangerous, they are life-threatening, and—with the devastating effects of climate change—they are only getting worse," Sanders said in a statement."I urge the administration to move quickly to create this national heat standard to protect workers on the job." While Texas Republicans move"to dismantle worker protections, some states such as California, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington have taken a proactive approach to protecting workers from extreme heat by implementing statewide heat rules," the letter notes."For example, at temperatures above 80°F, California requires employers to allow workers to take preventative cool-down rest in a shaded area at any time they feel at risk of overheating. In Minnesota, indoor workers may not be required to perform heavy work when the indoor heat index is too high." "We urge that, when drafting the heat standard, OSHA incorporates the best practices from these state rules by using them as the baseline for the federal standard," wrote the congressional Democrats."We additionally request that you model the standard after the provisions in the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatalities Prevention Act. This bill directs OSHA to establish an enforceable federal standard to ensure workers and employers can recognize and respond to the signs of heat stress."Adequate hydration;Medical services and training to address signs and symptoms of heat-related illness; and"Given the dire threat to the lives of workers exposed to extreme heat, we encourage you to mobilize all of the resources of the Department of Labor and the Biden administration that are necessary for implementing this standard as soon as possible," they added. The letter from congressional Democrats comes several months after the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania submitted aexhorting OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard to protect workers who are exposed to dangerously high temperatures by May 1, prior to the start of summer. While the AGs expressed support for OSHA's recent move to initiate rulemaking for a permanent heat standard, they lamented that this process"is expected to take several years, leaving millions of outdoor and indoor workers exposed to dangerous levels of heat in the interim." In the meantime, an ETS"would fill this regulatory void during the hottest months of the year when workers are most likely to experience extreme workplace heat exacerbated by climate change," the AGs wrote. As Casar put it Monday on social media:"President Biden and OSHA have the opportunity to protect workers and to save lives. Greg Abbott will be on the wrong side of history."President Joe Biden's administration to immediately enact a federal standard to protect workers from extreme heat.
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