New Florida state law bans local heat protections for outdoor workers

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/new-florida-state-law-bans-local-heat-protections-outdoor-workers

27 comments

  1. This is what the working class gets with Republican leadership.

  4. >More than 200 workers died in the United States from heat-related illness last year. It’s the leading weather-related cause of death for workers.

    Representative Rick Roth co-authored the bill.

    Republican. No surprise there.

    And finally,

    >The Biden Administration just proposed a new rule that would require employers to mitigate heat hazards. (details in article)

    Why vote blue? This, among a hundred other reasons.

  5. For anyone skimming, it bans *requiring* employers to provide heat protection to workers.

    I guess the assumption is that employers who do offer them will get more employees or something, because free market. And we all know how well unchecked capitalism works out for the little guy!

  6. I just don’t understand why people want politicians who pass these types of things. How did we get here?

  7. Not surprised considering it’s illegal to mention climate change in any Florida state laws…

  8. >A new law that just went into effect this week means state and federal law are the lay of the land – and counties and cities don’t get a say.

    >That’s at least when it comes to protections for people working outside.
    …
    Under the law, standards to control an employee’s heat or exposure to the sun could include things like mandatory water breaks, signage warning employees about heat exposure, and even “appropriate first-aid measures or emergency responses related to heat exposure.”

    >Local governments can’t regulate that.

    >They have to defer to state or federal law.

    Meahwhile:

    [Biden-Harris administration announces proposed rule to protect indoor, outdoor workers from extreme heat](https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20240702)

    >The U.S. Department of Labor has released a proposed rule with the goal of protecting millions of workers from the significant health risks of extreme heat. If finalized, the proposed rule would help protect approximately 36 million workers in indoor and outdoor work settings and substantially reduce heat injuries, illnesses and deaths in the workplace.
    …
    The proposed rule would require employers to develop an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in workplaces affected by excessive heat. Among other things, the plan would require employers to evaluate heat risks and — when heat increases risks to workers — implement requirements for drinking water, rest breaks and control of indoor heat. It would also require a plan to protect new or returning workers unaccustomed to working in high heat conditions.
    …
    Employers would also be required to provide training, have procedures to respond if a worker is experiencing signs and symptoms of a heat-related illness, and take immediate action to help a worker experiencing signs and symptoms of a heat emergency.

  9. How about no ac for desantis? Ever. If you’re around him be ready for no ac.

    He’d find out about how climate change ideology actually works real quick.

  10. Damn a link to fox news. Cmon now. I was interested to read florida has more temporary workers then california. How is that possible

  11. They really want people to die for their corporate overlords.

  12. Maybe they’ll stop voting for them if enough of their friends n family get heat stroke. Thankfully in a few more years the state will be underwater and I’ll own beachfront in GA.

  13. Make the law anyway. Have them take you away in handcuffs for saying people need water.

  14. how many of these MAGA supporters blue collar and working outdoors?

  16. Let me guess they have air conditioning and water in the chambers where they passed this.

  17. I work offshore in UAE, during the summer months we get 3 hour lunch break, and are limited on how much work between breaks we do depending on how extreme the work and temperature is on a given day, they even have ice cream vendors in Dubai giving out ice cream to outdoor workers for free.

  18. If only republican politicians were creative enough to figure out how to arrest immigrants for nearly dying of heat exposure, that would be amazing. Arrest them, force them to work for prison industries, charge them $4.75 for a Cup of Noodle.

  19. Wonder what happens when the inevitable heat related death occurs. Because Florida gets fucking hot. Is the company responsible? Can you sue the state?

  20. Does OSHA also ban working in shorts and T-shirts as unsafe clothing? Double whammy for workers.

  21. Get ready for this: OSHA is going on the chopping block.

  22. In some ways I *kind of* understand the reasoning.

    I’ve worked construction in the South, not Florida but close enough, and if an employer didn’t provide water (mostly Gatorade), the breaks to drink it and the ability to cool down then everyone would have just walked away.

    So, on the surface, it appears like a decent way to remove “unnecessary government regulation” from an ideological perspective.

    But, I’m a reasonably skilled, white, fully documented male and I’m not stupid enough to think that because “fuck you, I’m out of here” was available to me that it’s also available to other people.

  23. The republicans hate the American citizens. Vote blue!

  24. In a few years, there will be an outcry from the same people that passed this asking why no one wants to work these outdoor jobs anymore.

  26. Quote:
    Rep. Roth says he’s been in the farming industry his whole life.

    Rep. Roth says he’s been in the farming industry his whole life.

    “I’m a little bit insulted that some government bureaucrat thinks they need to help me take care of my employees.”

    You know, I’d guess that if he agreed with the rules, he’d have no problem with it.

    How can you say ” I want to work my employees to death” in different words?

    There are also laws that say you’re not allowed to murder your boss when they are assholes.

    He’s not calling for those to be revoked.

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