Heat kills! While the dangers to the human body of hypothermia are well known, hyperthermia – overheating – can be just as dangerous. As average global temperatures keep increasing, heat risks to both outdoor and indoor employees pose increasing physical risks to employees and risks of lawsuits and other financial risk to employers.
California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado have rules protecting outdoor workers, such as people in agriculture or construction, when temperatures get dangerously hot. Only two states – Minnesota and Oregon – protect indoor workers from excessive heat. Even climate-aware California hesitated in late March 2024 to vote for rules that would have granted indoor workers such as warehouse and restaurant workers the right to water, breaks, and cool-down areas when workplace temperatures topped 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Employers would also have had to use “fans, air conditioning, or other methods to cool spaces and adjust work tasks to account for increased heat fatigue when temperatures or the heat index exceeds 87 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat index is a measure that incorporates temperature and humidity, and more closely resembles the true feeling of heat.” Local political opposition to rules that some see as too costly for businesses can keep progress in this area at bay. Florida and Texas have even banned local rules seeking to protect workers in this area.
Instead of seeing rules protecting workers from extreme heat (or cold) as onerous and costly, employers would be well advised to see the benefits of such rules: human beings work and thrive only within a limited temperature range. Such is biology. Employers want their employees to be as productive, effective, and safe in the workplace as possible. That is best accomplished by providing for physical and at least some mental needs. Modern ESG methodology shows how you, as an employer, can improve your profits while seeing to your employees’ needs. By ignoring such needs, employers also run risks of an increasing number of workers’ compensation claims and even wrongful death lawsuits.
Extreme temperatures can be lethal. Protect your workers and use that to attract and retain good and loyal workers.