By KERRY SMITH BUCK

WASHINGTON, D.C. – OSHA, the Associated General Contractors of America and contractors are continuing to push the Trump administration to move forward and create a permanent rule that requires contractors to enforce a jobsite standard for keeping workers safe during episodes of high temperatures.

OSHA and responsible contractors want a permanent, federal heat hazard rule to eliminate regulatory guesswork, prevent life-threatening illnesses and establish a level playing field.

The federal OSHA standard for workplace heat illness prevention has stalled and is unlikely to be finalized in the near term, according to Kevin, Cannon, senior director of safety, health and risk management for the AGC.

Whereas once it fell within OSHA’s purview, now the U.S. Dept. of Labor enforces heat safety on construction sites through a revised National Emphasis Program (NEP) that is scheduled to continue through 2031.

“It’s up to the Trump administration as to whether it is going to initiate a federal rule,” Cannon said. “Right now, it’s ‘wait and see.’”

Although a permanent specific heat rule has not been established federally, construction companies face strict heat hazard enforcement. The NEP directs OSHA to target hundreds of high-risk industries – including construction – for programmed and complaint-driven inspections when the heat index is expected to reach 80 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

OSHA’s General Duty Clause equips the agency to cite employers under Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act for exposing workers to recognized hazardous heat conditions without implementing proper controls.

In absence of a federal rule, in April of 2022 OSHA issued a three-year NEP. That expired in 2025 and the agency set in place a five-year NEP in the void of a DOL-sanctioned rule.

The original 2022 NEP, according to Cannon, specified that an unlimited amount of water needed to be provided on jobsites during high heat periods and that communication to workers needed to be in writing. The current rule requires a sufficient amount of water to be provided onsite to workers and allows communications to be in writing or verbally.

“OSHA is really active in issuing hazard alert letters (rather than citations, since there’s no official rule on the books),” said Cannon. “About one in every five jobsite inspections results in a letter.”

Eric Simmons, Ed.D., is vice president of risk management at Helix Electric. Simmons says that heat is a hazard that truly needs to be managed via a layered approach.

“There’s environmental heat exposure, indoor heat exposure that’s a combination of heat and lack of ventilation and other heat-related hazards as well,” he said. “We’ve invested a lot in training and creating layers of heat illness checks – and this training is integrated into our site-specific orientation process. It’s much more than a ‘make sure they’ve got water, rest and shade’ process…these are important components, but it’s much more than that.”

Behavioral factors, lifestyle choices and preexisting medical conditions are examples of additional drivers that can contribute to heat-related illnesses for workers.

Stephen Kinn, senior safety manager at Kwest Group, agrees. Kinn has developed a step-by-step flow chart for Kwest’s onsite heat coordinators, so they know exactly what to do if they see or sense someone is unwell.

“In heavy civil work, it can be something as simple as making sure workers have easy, quick access to water,” Kinn says. “The location of the water yesterday may not be the same today.”

Shifting the workload and changing the start times for labor-intensive tasks such as pouring concrete says Kinn, are ways to mitigate the risk during high heat stretches. “Starting these tasks much earlier during the day or performing them after dark are ways to reduce heat illness risk for workers.” He added.

The risk of heat illness is greater for new or returning workers versus those who are already acclimated to working on the jobsite, according to Simmons. “You may have a new laborer working outside on a project this week who was working indoors at a restaurant last week,” he said. “Or you may have a worker who is returning from a week or two on vacation and needs reacclimating. It may take some workers two to three weeks to get acclimated, and it may take some workers 10 days. Have that conversation with each of your workers so you’re aware of the environment(s) they’ve been in.”

Kinn says alert and aware co-workers can literally be lifesavers in these situations.

“On a Monday, one of my foremen called in to report that he was taking an individual who had issues with seizures in the past to the emergency room because the worker was exhibiting signs of being unwell,” Kinn said. “When they arrived at the medical center, physicians discovered he wasn’t having a seizure, but rather a stroke. That foreman is trained in CPR. He recognized immediately that something wasn’t right and wound up saving that worker’s life.”