| The state office of Labor & Industries has set a tentative date of June 4 for the adoption of a so-called “heat stress” rule. In mid-May, the agency was analyzing hundreds of comments it received during six public hearings and an open comment period.
The new policy would require companies with employees working outdoors for more than 15 minutes in hot weather to implement a variety of measures, including a plan, training, and prevention methods like extra water, to prevent heat-related illness. The requirements become in effect based on “triggers,” determined by temperatures, type of clothing worn, presence of shade or direct sun, and so on.
According to L&I, the agency started looking at health and safety risks of working outdoors after a farm worker died in 2005 from heat stroke. “There was a lot of concern at our agency and among the farm worker community that heat-related illness wasn’t recognized for the serious health hazard that it is, and that employers didn’t know what to do to prevent it,” L&I spokeswoman Elaine Fischer said. “Following that death, L&I put out a hazard alert to bring attention to the matter.”
L&I adopted an emergency rule in 2006 and 2007, but was petitioned in 2007 by Columbia Legal Services to adopt a permanent rule. The agency says it has worked with stakeholders for the past two years to come up with a rule to protect workers “without putting any undue burden on employers.”
However, groups representing businesses say the new rule is not only excessive, and L&I’s rationale for adopting it laughable, but that it also duplicates laws already in existence, and may even put some small companies out of business.
“From our members’ perspective, this is a very heavy-handed approach by government to take care of a very small problem,” said Amy Brackenburry, a lobbyist with the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW). She said that based on L&I’s own economic impact analysis, some businesses may have to pay thousands of dollars, in addition to finding the rules “very complicated.”
“Instead of allowing them (employers) to use common sense, they are making it technical and complex,” she said, adding that L&I should focus on enforcing rules it already has — such as policing unlicensed contractors — instead of creating new ones.
Fischer acknowledged that many comments from people opposing the rule said the regulation wasn’t necessary because it was common sense, but supporters commented it would protect workers from serious health hazard. Asked about criticism from industry groups calling the rule excessive and dealing with a small problem, she said, “We heard comments that only a small percentage of claims are related to heat and only a few people have died from it. Our response would be that it’s tragic that four workers have died and many more suffering enough to seek medical treatment. Nobody should die from working outdoors in hot weather. Some workers never fully recover from heat-related illness and are disabled.” She also said most employers will not incur any additional costs, and L&I believes the investment would be minimal.
BIAW isn’t buying any of those arguments. Brackenburry said the organization is waiting until the rule is adopted, then expects to immediately file a lawsuit to challenge it. BIAW is also advising its members that according to the law, they are not obligated to allow L&I inspectors on their jobsite or into their places of business without a warrant and a scheduled appointment.
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