Advocates: New Voluntary Heat Safety Rules Not Enough
- Arizona adopted a new set of workplace heat safety recommendations this spring, but worker advocates like Jazmin Moreno Dominguez of Agave Community Threads say day laborers, construction workers, and farmworkers have seen little practical change, since the guidelines carry no enforcement mechanism.
- Moreno Dominguez and other labor groups are pushing for enforceable regulations similar to those in California and six other states, which would require employers to provide water and heat safety training and penalize those who don’t, arguing voluntary recommendations leave gaps that put low-wage workers at risk.
- Dennis Kavanaugh, chairman of the Industrial Commission of Arizona, agreed that an enforceable statewide standard would hold employers more accountable and said the commission may begin a formal rulemaking process after revisiting the issue in December.
- Kavanaugh said the commission has surveyed large employers during public meetings this summer and found the vast majority say they’re already following the new recommendations with only minor adjustments needed, and he described basic heat safety measures like water, shade, acclimatization, and rest breaks as common-sense steps that ultimately save money by reducing injuries and fatalities.
OSHA Clears Jacob’s Pillow of Fault in Fatal Dolly Accident One Year Later
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a report on Aug. 3 finding no fault on the part of Jacob’s Pillow, a dance center and performance venue operator in Becket, Mass. in the death of a 40-year-old production manager last year
- The worker died on Aug. 1, 2025, after she and a summer intern lost control of a dolly carrying theater staging platforms while moving it down a sloped area of the organization’s campus. She tripped while trying to regain control, and the dolly and platforms fell on her.
- Jacob’s Pillow canceled the remainder of its 2025 season days after the accident, and the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office later declined to press criminal charges following its own investigation.
- OSHA interviewed several Jacob’s Pillow employees as part of its inquiry and ultimately recommended that no citations be issued to the organization.