July 18, 2016 8:50 am
With the hot summer months ahead, employers with an outdoor workforce will want to have a clear plan to prevent heat illness. Safety in the workplace is a huge priority all year but especially in the summer months. California’s strict heat illness standards require employers to take precise steps to protect outdoor workers from heat illness.
Cal/OSHA urges employers to prepare in advance for heat waves. In addition, whether you have an indoor or outdoor workforce, employers should always consider the overall duty to ensure a safe workplace.
The California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 8, section 3395 (Heat Illness Prevention) contains the heat illness standard. In general, California’s heat illness prevention standards require employers with “outdoor places of employment” to:
This is just a general overview of the very specific heat illness requirements. Cal/OSHA also provides educational tools for employers (http://www.dir.ca.gov/DOSH/HeatIllnessInfo.html). Failure to comply with California’s heat illness standards can result in Cal/OSHA citations, fines and even stop-work orders that shut down your operations.
With rising temperatures on the way, all employers will want to consider the affects that heat may have on worker safety. Employers with outdoor places of employment and subject to the heat illness standard will want to take additional steps:
This blog post is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created between the author and reader of this blog post, and its content should not be relied upon as legal advice. Readers are urged to consult legal counsel when seeking legal advice.