Barriers to filing complaints and setting a new national heat standard<\/p>\n
Shepherd said many workers felt like they couldn\u2019t file a complaint or bring their concerns to company owners over hot working conditions out of fear that they\u2019d sour their relationships with direct managers, or be informally punished.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike they\u2019d get assigned a worse work shift or a worse job in the kind of job rotation,\u201d she said. \u201cYou also don\u2019t feel like you can say something if you feel like there\u2019s no path to changing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the main problems with addressing indoor workplace heat safety is the lack of a federal standard or labor policy that requires employers and businesses to offer specific workplace accommodations at certain temperatures, Shepherd said.<\/p>\n
States like California, Oregon and Minnesota have adopted their own heat-related regulations, but no such policies exist in Delaware, New Jersey or Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
Reiger said he wished his employer would institute additional work breaks, \u201cwhere on hot days like this, people are allowed to take breaks, you know, cool off, refresh,\u201d in addition to having an air-conditioned space to rest.<\/p>\n
There is a proposal to set a national heat standard and workplace safety requirements<\/a> that\u2019s currently under review<\/a> at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, to address some of these issues.<\/p>\n The new rules would require employers to activate certain cooling measures and take other steps to prevent heat hazards in the workplace.<\/p>\n Companies and businesses would need to provide easy access to drinking water and shaded or cooled rest areas when the heat index, which also takes into account humidity, reaches 80 degrees.<\/p>\n