Climate change is producing more intense and frequent heat waves, and scientists project that Metro Boston will experience upwards of 40 days over 90 degrees by 2030. While everyone is impacted by extreme heat, some are more at risk of heat-related illnesses and death, including people who work outdoors, people whose workplaces don’t have air conditioning, and physical laborers. High temperatures can cause heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion and heat stroke, exacerbate cardiovascular diseases, trigger asthma and other respiratory illnesses, and even cause death. In the United States, workers of color are disproportionately victims of heat-related deaths, and those who work in agriculture, construction, ground maintenance, landscaping, road work, roofing, warehouses, and similar sectors are particularly at risk.
Responding to Unsafe Heat in the Workplace
The Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety (MassCOSH) is a membership-driven nonprofit that focuses on vulnerable populations and workers who are underrepresented: immigrants, youth, low wage earners, workers of color, emergency response and hazardous waste workers. and families of fallen workers. MassCOSH aims to ensure the safety of workers and to end dangerous working conditions through training, technical assistance, and building community/ labor alliances.
In June 2021, MassCOSH received a call from La Colaborativa, a community non-profit for Latinx immigrants in Greater Boston, about employees of a Chelsea laundromat experiencing symptoms of heat stress. MassCOSH arrived at the laundromat and recorded the establishment’s indoor temperature as 95 degrees. With humidity at 75 percent, MassCOSH estimated that the overall heat index, or “real feel”, was between 106 and 120 degrees.
Workers have a right to a safe and healthy work environment: under the General Duty Clause from the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers must protect workers from recognized hazards in the workplace, including heat-related hazards. MassCOSH educated the laundromat employees about their right to refuse to work in a dangerous work environment without retaliation and helped the workers report these conditions, which led to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launching an investigation.
Federal Standards to Protect Workers
Additional federal policy is needed to further protect workers from extreme temperatures and address the inequitable impacts of extreme heat. The Biden administration is undertaking new initiatives through OSHA to protect workers and reduce exposure to extreme heat. OSHA released a notice in October 2021 on its initiative protect those at risk of exposure to hazardous heat conditions both indoors and out. This included:
- Implementing an enforcement initiative to prevent heat-related hazards;
- Developing a national program emphasizing heat inspections;
- Creating a rulemaking process to enforce a workplace heat standard; and
- Forming a national advisory committee on occupational safety and health working group focused on better understanding challenges and sharing best practices to protect workers.
The deadline for submitting comments on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings was January 26, 2022. The Department of Labor is also in the process of launching an initiative on occupational heat exposure to protect outdoor workers, including agricultural, construction, and delivery workers, and indoor workers, such as those in warehouses, factories, and commercial kitchens.
As temperatures rise in the United States and Greater Boston, employers and workers should educate themselves on heat safety and worker rights. Find more resources and information on extreme heat at www.mapc.org/resource-library/extreme-heat-resources or at the links below.
Additional Resources
For more information and resources on extreme heat in the workplace check out these resources.
In 2019, MAPC’s Public Health Department conducted Climate Perspectives, a study that focused on workers in the home-healthcare, fishing, agriculture, and construction industries. Workers in these industries are exposed to an increase in extreme and unpredictable weather, heat illnesses, and insect-borne diseases associated with climate change. MAPC conducted interviews, focus groups, and participatory artmaking with representatives from these fields to better understand how they were experiencing and responding to climate change. Workers are already experiencing the impact of climate change, but more support is needed to help better prepare, respond, and adapt to new and changing climates.
MASSsafetyWorks
State level resource that focuses on how to improve safety in the workplace. Their platform provides many resources and informational flyers related to worker protection for both employees and employers. MASSsafetyWorks partners with The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, and the Department of Labor Standards.
MassCOSH – Get Help
MassCOSH provides a variety of fact sheets, resources, and training on workplace safety and health topics. MassCOSH has also worked with teachers and students to elevate the issues of heat safety within schools. Find their factsheet here: MassCOSH Heat Safety in Schools.
EPA Social Vulnerability Report
The Climate Change and Social Vulnerability Report in the United States discusses how socially vulnerable populations will be disproportionally affected by changes in extreme temperatures. It also discusses projections from loss of labor hours due to extreme heat and how vulnerable populations will be impacted.
MAPC Climate Vulnerability in Greater Boston
MAPC’s regional climate vulnerability index shows which neighborhoods in Metro Boston are more vulnerable to climate hazards than others. This mapping tool – which combines sociodemographic, public health, housing, and workforce data with climate exposure data – can be used to help identify which populations should be centered in climate preparedness and resiliency work.