Construction workers here in Illinois and Indiana may not face the same high heat levels day-after-day that their colleagues in Arizona, Texas, or Florida experience, but our part of the country is known for having dangerously high summer temperatures where construction worker health is at risk. For more, read August 2023 Heat Dome in Illinois and Indiana: OSHA Warnings to Employers.
These summer construction work heat injury and accident risks are the target of a new federal regulation to be overseen by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The new OSHA Heat Safety Law will amend 29 CFR §§1910; 1915; 1917; 1918; and 1936.
Read, OSHA Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings Regulation Text; also read: “OSHA Announces New Proposed Rule to Shield Workers from Extreme Heat,” written by Robert Yaniz Jr. and published by OHS Online on July 9, 2024.
Construction Workers: Getting Hurt Because of the Heat
Heat hurts construction workers in two ways. There are heat illnesses which can be debilitating or even deadly. There are also workplace accidents that are caused by excessive heat conditions, which can also be catastrophic or fatal for one or more workers on the construction site.
Heat illnesses include:
- Exhaustion, where the body cannot cope with the external heat, causing internal temperatures to rise and internal bodily functions to falter and fail. Workers suffering things like dizziness, headaches, or feeling nauseous may be victims of heat exhaustion and in need of help.
- Stroke, where the construction worker’s internal body temperature has risen to a level where internal functioning is closing down and vital organs (think kidneys, heart, brain) are being damaged by the heat.
Heat accidents can be caused by things like:
- Confusion, where construction workers in the hot worksite are unable to function properly or think clearly due to things like exhaustion.
- Dehydration, where the human body has insufficient fluids because of excessive sweating which can cause not only things like sudden muscle cramps but slow cognitive response times.
For details, read “Protecting Workers From the Effects of Heat,” published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in September 2023; also read: Extreme Heat on the Job: Danger of Severe Worker Injuries or Death.
Most outdoor fatalities, 50% to 70%, occur in the first few days of working in warm or hot environments because the body needs to build a tolerance to the heat gradually over time. The process of building tolerance is called heat acclimatization. Lack of acclimatization represents a major risk factor for fatal outcomes.
Occupational risk factors for heat illness include heavy physical activity, warm or hot environmental conditions, lack of acclimatization, and wearing clothing that holds in body heat.
The New OSHA Construction Heat Safety Regulation
Once effective law in Illinois and Indiana, the new Heat Safety Regulation will apply to the construction industry as well as any workplace where heat is a danger whether indoors or outdoors. This includes construction on roadways, buildings, and elsewhere as well as those employed in our agri-business industry, or working in general industry or maritime jobsites.
Key for all construction workers is confirmation by the new safety law that employers have a legal duty of safety and care to protect those on the job from being hurt by high heat conditions.
Employers will have a duty to make sure their people are protected when the heat index is 91 degrees Fahrenheit or more.
This includes construction industry employers creating a new heat safety program in compliance with the new regulation that includes:
- Having cool water on the job site;
- Providing access to shade on the job site;
- Setting up work schedules with mandatory breaks (workers must stop working and rest);
- Training construction workers on the dangers of heat illness and injury;
- Training construction workers on the signs of heat symptoms in fellow workers; and
- Explaining to workers how to help someone with signs of heat stress or heat injury.
Heat Index is Key to the New Heat Safety Law
What is the heat index? According to the National Weather Service, the “heat index” calculates the impact of humidity in tandem with air temperature, and warns of risks involved as follows:
- Caution when Heat Index is 80-90;
- Extreme Caution when Heat Index is 91-103;
- Danger when Heat Index is 104-124;
- Extreme Danger when Heat Index is 124 or more.
Also see: the OSHA Heat Safety Tool which provides an online app for both Android and iPhone that allows workers and employers to confirm the actual heat index on their jobsite.
The new Heat Safety Law will demand that employers for those working construction in Illinois and Indiana take proactive steps to keep workers safe from heat illness and heat injury.
The new Heat Safety Law looks to the Heat Index (“HI”) for steps that the employers must take on the construction site. For instance:
- with a HI of 91 degrees Fahrenheit, there must be shaded rest areas;
- if the HI hits 100 degrees Fahrenheit, then each construction worker must have at least one quart of drinking water every hour; and
- once the HI gets to at least 103 degrees Fahrenheit, then the duty of care mandates even more protections, including more breaks and taking the time to do health checks of each worker to make sure they are okay.
The New Heat Safety Law and Construction Workers Hurt on the Job in Indiana or Illinois
Construction work is extremely important in our area, and there are lots of people earning a living in various construction trades, from welders to roofers to machinists and more. Regulatory agencies as well as safety organizations and those advocating for construction worker injury victims and their loved ones know that construction worksites are especially risky for heat-related harm.
Construction work oftentimes must be done in conditions of very high heat. The workers go about their day understanding this, completing task after task in hot, demanding conditions. It’s dangerous. People die from working construction in extreme heat. Read, Acharya P, Boggess B, Zhang K. Assessing Heat Stress and Health among Construction Workers in a Changing Climate: A Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Feb 1;15(2):247.
Employers already have a general duty of care to keep people safe from harm on the job; unfortunately, it is obvious that this basic regulation has been ignored or disrespected since so many construction workers continue to suffer from heat-related harm. Accordingly, the new Heat Safety Law is a welcomed help to protect our construction workers and their families.
Sadly, there will be construction sites that will fail to comply with this new regulation just as there has been so much disregard for existing care duties and basic worker needs in hot workplaces. In these situations, the worker victim and their loved ones will have legal redress through not only workers’ compensation laws but possible third-party personal injury claims involving others on the construction site.
See:
- What is the Employer’s General Duty Clause?
- Extreme Heat on the Job: Danger of Severe Worker Injuries or Death
- Shocking New Federal Rule for Construction Worker Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- Who Can Be Held Liable for Construction Worker Accidents?
- Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents?
Construction work in the hot summer months here in Illinois and Indiana is dangerous. The risk of being seriously harmed from heat illnesses or from being involved in a severe or fatal work accident caused by high heat conditions is well-known and employers have a duty to protect against these hazards. The new regulation will increase their legal responsibilities. Please be careful out there!
