Forcing people to work in deadly heat is mostly legal in the U.S.

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BUSINESS

Forcing people to work in deadly heat is mostly legal in the U.S.

As the planet records some of its highest average temperatures, workers have barely any legal protections from extreme heat

By Jacob Bogage and Eli Tan
July 14, 2023 at 7:00 a.m. EDT

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Recent weeks have seen Earth’s highest average temperatures on record, according to climate studies, yet most U.S. workers have few legal protections related to extreme heat conditions. The federal government is in the midst of a years-long process to draft heat safety rules, and only six states have their own regulations that guarantee laborers access to water, rest and shade — the three elements that medical professionals say can protect workers from heat illness.

The result, experts say, is that workers in a bevy of industries — from farmworkers to roofers and delivery drivers to sanitation professionals — are left to defend themselves under the scorching sun. ... The consequences can be deadly.

Between 2017 and 2022, the deaths of 121 workers on the job were officially attributed directly to heat, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which says that number is almost surely an undercount because heat-related deaths are often blamed on other workplace accidents or underlying health conditions. For example, an individual who mishandles dangerous machinery in heated conditions may have been severely dehydrated to the point of incapacitation, or a roofer who falls to their death may have lost consciousness due to heat.

Heat illness can lead workers to make unsafe decisions, said Elizabeth Strater, director of strategic campaigns for the United Farm Workers. ... “You are already reacting more slowly, and you are making different choices than you would,” she said. “A lot of people become irritable at this point, they’re not going to be taking the advice of the people around them. You’re not recognizing these are [working] conditions that are unusual and dangerous.”

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By Jacob Bogage
Jacob Bogage writes about business and technology for The Post, where he has worked since 2015. He previously covered the automotive and manufacturing industries and wrote for the Sports section. Twitter https://twitter.com/jacobbogage

By Eli Tan
Eli Tan is a business reporting intern at The Washington Post. Before The Post, he was a staff writer for CoinDesk, where he covered cryptocurrency and Web3. He lives in Washington, D.C. Twitter https://twitter.com/elitanjourno