Heat Rule Draws House Panel Fire

House Republicans and industry representatives on May 14 criticized a federal plan to protect workers from heat, saying the proposed regulation would be too onerous for employers to follow, according to E&E News.
OSHA’s draft rule released in mid 2024 would require employers to provide workers with water and a cool place to rest when the heat index hits 80 degrees.
When combined heat and humidity reached 90 degrees, the proposal would require 15-minute paid rest breaks for all employees after two hours.
Republicans on the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections said the proposal’s “one-size-fits-all” approach to heat illness prevention ignored the diversity of workplaces the proposal would apply.
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Manufacturing representatives last Thursday told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections that they are looking for a return to common sense by OSHA.
Last week’s hearing, titled “Reclaiming OSHA’s Mission: Ensuring Safety Without Overreach,” heard from the National Association of Manufacturers’ representative Jake Parson, president of CRH Americas Materials’ Northeast Division.
“OSHA has put forward costly rules that ignore the complexity of U.S. manufacturing,” Parson told the panel.
“If we want to grow manufacturing in the U.S., we need to rebalance regulations that cost manufacturers $350 billion every year. This is money that could be spent on hiring people, building new facilities and creating new products,” Parson said.
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Ramp worker safety was the topic of a Federal Aviation Administration listening session last Thursday, the agency’s ongoing Call to Action for the safety of ramp workers, who include cargo handlers, fuelers, loaders, caterers, marshallers, and maintenance workers.
The goal of the session was to identify hazards and explore innovative safety solutions by fostering collaboration and sharing best safety practices.
The 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act mandated a review of airport ramp worker safety and ways to reduce accidents.
The feedback from participants regarding improving ramp task scheduling, reassessing staffing needs, and appropriate training was invaluable. The agency will evaluate how these actions support the requirements of section 353 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 to further enhance the future state of ramp worker safety.
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OSHA inspectors found lead after swiping the hands of telephone line workers in Springfield, Massachusetts.
They performed the tests after workers rinsed off but before they headed home to their families at the end of the workday in January.
The agency also told the workers and their union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2324, in a letter that the air concentration of lead in the maintenance hole was high enough to warrant taking corrective action.
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New Mexico Senate Republican Leader Bill Sharer has weighed in on the Environmental Improvement Board’s proposed “Heat Illness & Injury Prevention Rule.”
Sharer’s May 17 op-ed claimed the rule complicates operations for key industries and jeopardizes economic growth.
“The Governor and the EIB think you’re too stupid to know when you need to take a drink of water and will now require a fellow employee to follow you around the jobsite with a clipboard, thermometer, and lukewarm tap water while you are trying to do your job,” he wrote.
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