California Throws Prisoners Under the Bus to Adopt New Heat Rules
In a desperate bid to get new heat-related workplace safety rules adopted before summer arrived, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) agreed on April 18, 2024, to drop prisons and jails from the measure.
Two temperature thresholds trigger successive provisions of the proposed regulations. After a workplace reaches 82 degrees Fahrenheit, employers must begin proactively monitoring for signs of heat-related illness whenever employees take a break to cool down. After the temperature climbs to 87 degrees—or if the workplace puts employees near hot equipment—employers must take more drastic steps to cool the area, provide more breaks and/or rotate workers to cooler spots.
Cal/OSHA was set to adopt the rules at its meeting on March 21, 2024. But the state Department of Finance (DOF) threw a wrench into the decision-making machinery with objections to “billions of dollars” that state and local governments may be obligated to spend to bring prisons and jails into compliance. By eliminating the lockups from coverage, the revised rules “would appear to address the issues that [DOF] had,” according to spokesman H.D. Palmer.
Cal/OSHA Deputy Chief Eric Berg said separate rules would be proposed for prisons and jails, initiating a review and approval process that could take years.
Source: Los Angeles Times
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