Menendez introduces legislation to protect workers from extreme heat

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced legislation to ensure the safety and health of workers who are exposed to dangerous heat conditions in the workplace.

The bill, the Asunción Valdivia Heat Stress Injury, Illness, and Fatality Prevention Act, is named in honor of Asunción Valdivia who died in 2004 after picking grapes for ten hours straight in 105-degree temperatures.

Valdivia fell unconscious and instead of calling an ambulance, his employer told his son to drive his father home. On his way home, he died of heat stroke at the age of 53. Mr. Valdivia’s death was completely preventable, yet his story is not unique.

“Across the country, we are seeing extreme temperatures that range from high 90s to nearly 120 degrees. It is times like these that we need to ensure that all hardworking individuals are protected from the risks posed by exposure to high temperatures,” Menendez said. “This bill directs OSHA to establish clear standards of protection for working people to avoid unnecessary occupational tragedies driven by excessive heat, like what happened to Mr. Valdivia in 2004.”

Heat-related illnesses can cause heat cramps, organ damage, heat exhaustion, stroke, and even death. Between 1992 and 2017, heat stress injuries killed 815 U.S. workers and seriously injured more than 70,000. Climate change is making the problem worse. From 2011-2020, heat exposure killed at least 400 workers and caused nearly 34,000 injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work; both are likely vast underestimates.

This year is on pace to be the hottest on record: the first week of July had the hottest days on record on Earth, following the hottest ever month of June. Farmworkers and construction workers suffer the highest incidence of heat illness. And no matter what the weather is outside, workers in factories, commercial kitchens, and other workplaces, including ones where workers must wear personal protective equipment (PPE), can face dangerously high heat conditions all year round.

The Asunción Valdivia Heat Stress Injury, Illness, and Fatality Prevention Act will protect workers against occupational exposure to excessive heat by:

• Requiring the OSHA to establish an enforceable standard to protect workers in high-heat environments with measures like paid breaks in cool spaces, access to water, limitations on time exposed to heat, and emergency response for workers with heat-related illness;
• Require an interim final rule be in place within one year of the bill’s passage;
• Directing employers to provide training for their employees on the risk factors that can lead to heat illness, and guidance on the proper procedures for responding to symptoms.

The Asunción Valdivia Heat Stress Injury, Illness, and Fatality Prevention Act has the support of a broad coalition of groups including: Rural Coalition, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, AFL-CIO, UNITE HERE!, Communication Workers of America, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, United Farm Workers, Farmworker Justice, Public Citizen, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Union of Concerned Scientists, United Steelworkers, and International Union, UAW.

“It’s long past time for meaningful legislation to protect Teamsters and other workers from the effects of prolonged heat exposure and dangerous heat levels while at work,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “Paid breaks in cool spaces, access to water, and limitations on time exposed to heat are simple common-sense steps that should be mandated immediately. Waiting to implement these measures is unacceptable and will result in the further loss of lives.”

“UNITE HERE represents members in numerous workplaces exposed to dangerous heat levels. Environmental injustices like oppressively hot temperatures harms communities already facing enough injustices — like areas where our Union’s working class, immigrant, Black and Brown members hail, including the deep south and southwest,” said Gwen Mills, Secretary Treasurer of UNITE HERE! “Whether it’s driving a catering truck in direct sun to stock departing planes with food and water or toiling in front of commercial appliances at maximum hotness in hotel kitchens, workers in both primarily outdoor and indoor spaces face record highs. The Asunción Valdivia Heat Stress Injury, Illness, and Fatality Prevention Act is the kind of federal intervention required for protecting ourselves from an increasingly more alarming climate crisis. We commend elected leaders for leading the charge and urge the swift passage of this critical bill.”

Earlier this week, Sen. Menendez also joined Sen. Brown and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas-35) in urging the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to implement a federal workplace heat standard as quickly as possible.

Menendez is a longtime champion for fair and safe labor in New Jersey and across the country, joining Senate colleagues in July in reintroducing the Fairness for Farm Workers Act. This legislation would update the nation’s labor laws to ensure farm workers receive fairer wages and compensation.