Editorial: California workers shouldn’t have to face another broiling summer without indoor heat protections
7 months ago

Editorial: California workers shouldn’t have to face another broiling summer without indoor heat protections

LA Times  

A worker holds a heat and humidity index device that some employees wear while working at a Rite Aid warehouse in Lancaster. Seven summers have come and gone since California lawmakers voted to require indoor workplace standards to prevent workers from being injured or killed from extreme heat. Thanks to ineptitude by state officials, California is heading into another summer without rules to protect the nearly 1 million people who labor inside sweltering warehouses, boiler rooms, kitchens and other facilities. Oregon became the first state to adopt heat protection rules for indoor workers in 2022, just 10 months after the devastating and deadly heat dome the year before. There’s still hope that the heat standards can be put into place to help most of the state’s workers this summer.

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History of this topic

California’s heat wave raising health concerns ahead of sports-filled weekend
2 months, 2 weeks ago

California’s heat wave raising health concerns ahead of sports-filled weekend

LA Times  

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle catches a touchdown pass during last Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Temperatures are expected to remain 10 to 15 degrees above average for this time of year, with the San Francisco Bay Area and inland Southern California facing major to extreme heat risks. The National …

Newsom vetoes bill aiming to increase protections for farmworkers overcome by heat
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Newsom vetoes bill aiming to increase protections for farmworkers overcome by heat

LA Times  

Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that aimed to make it easier for farmworkers to make a workers’ compensation claim for heat illness. In a veto message issued Saturday, Newsom said there is “no doubt” that California farmworkers need strong protections from the risk of heat-related illness, especially as climate change drives an increase in extreme temperatures. Gavin Newsom’s desk …

Lawmakers take ‘creative’ approach to enforcing heat safety rules for California farmworkers
3 months, 1 week ago

Lawmakers take ‘creative’ approach to enforcing heat safety rules for California farmworkers

LA Times  

With the temperature well over 100 degrees, a farmworker takes a break in the shade of a peach tree in a Riverside County orchard. Gavin Newsom’s desk aims to compel employer compliance with the state’s outdoor heat safety standards by making it easier for farmworkers to make a workers’ compensation claim for heat illness. First enacted in 2005, the state’s …

More extreme heat plus more people equals danger in these California cities
3 months, 2 weeks ago

More extreme heat plus more people equals danger in these California cities

Associated Press  

On a recent sunny afternoon in Lancaster, Cassandra Hughes looked for a place to cool down. An international panel of climate scientists recently reported that it is “ virtually certain ” that “there has been increases in the intensity and duration of heatwaves and in the number of heatwave days at the global scale.” CalMatters identified the California communities most …

Why workers still swelter, weeks after new heat standards took effect for indoor worksites
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Why workers still swelter, weeks after new heat standards took effect for indoor worksites

LA Times  

California’s new indoor heat standards are expected to apply to 1.4 million workers at a broad range of job sites, including industrial warehouses, commercial laundries and restaurant kitchens. “The timeline should be as soon as possible, because heat was killing workers yesterday,” said Renee Guerrero Deleon, an organizer at the Southern California Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health. Margot Alvarez, …

Heat advisory: 10 ways the record heat is changing us—some small, some horrifying.
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Heat advisory: 10 ways the record heat is changing us—some small, some horrifying.

Slate  

You’re not just imagining it. What researchers are doing is like “when you take a person’s temperature to see if they have a fever,” said David Easterling, a scientist at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center. “The heat and high temps are the final push they need.” Most people find out about it through word of mouth—that’s how I learned it …

California legislators say new laws must protect farmworkers from extreme heat
4 months ago

California legislators say new laws must protect farmworkers from extreme heat

LA Times  

State lawmakers, responding to a report that the agency charged with ensuring worker safety in California has sharply cut back on enforcement of outdoor heat protection laws, said new legislation is needed to protect employees amid escalating periods of extreme heat. Ortega, whose committee has heard testimony from farmworkers accusing Cal/OSHA of not enforcing safety laws, said the agency has …

California cuts back on safety enforcement as farmworkers toil in extreme heat
4 months, 1 week ago

California cuts back on safety enforcement as farmworkers toil in extreme heat

LA Times  

California has sharply cut its enforcement of heat-protection laws for outdoor laborers while extreme heat has intensified in recent years — endangering farmworkers, construction workers and others who toil in scorching temperatures — an investigation by the Los Angeles Times and Capital & Main has found. Worker advocates say the numbers show a failure to adequately enforce California’s landmark outdoor …

California’s long-awaited indoor heat standard has gone into effect. Here’s what to know
5 months ago

California’s long-awaited indoor heat standard has gone into effect. Here’s what to know

LA Times  

More than a million workers laboring in warehouses, kitchens, laundry rooms and other hot indoor settings across California are now protected by new safety measures that went into effect on Tuesday. “This long-overdue victory for workers cannot be overstated; these protections from extreme heat will save countless lives.” Here’s what you should know about the new rule: What are the …

Takeaways from AP story on dangerous heat threats to greenhouse workers
5 months, 1 week ago

Takeaways from AP story on dangerous heat threats to greenhouse workers

Associated Press  

MOREHEAD, Ky. — Many farms, from vertical farming startups to traditional specialty crop growers, are marketing greenhouses as a way to shelter crops from climate extremes. The data, along with stories of current and former greenhouse workers, shows a growing population of people increasingly vulnerable to heat-related illnesses, injuries and death as global temperatures rise and greenhouses become more popular. …

Opinion: California will finally have indoor heat standards for workplaces — with a cruel exception
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Opinion: California will finally have indoor heat standards for workplaces — with a cruel exception

LA Times  

A state board recently voted unanimously to create long-awaited indoor heat standards for California workers. Opinion Editorial: California workers shouldn’t have to face another broiling summer without indoor heat protections Workers in sweltering warehouses, kitchens and other workplaces prone to extreme heat illness face another summer without critical heat protection standards if California officials don’t move quickly to adopt and …

Record-setting heat will continue to torment millions of Americans this weekend
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Record-setting heat will continue to torment millions of Americans this weekend

CNN  

CNN — The weekend is off to a sizzling start as more than one-third of US residents face heat advisories and additional cities are expected to see record temperatures in the coming days. Even in the Pacific Northwest, the heat is punishing Parts of Oregon will experience triple digits up to five days with poor overnight relief, the National Weather …

California heat: A ‘potentially historic’ heat wave intensifies along the West Coast, as dangerous wildfires spread
5 months, 2 weeks ago

California heat: A ‘potentially historic’ heat wave intensifies along the West Coast, as dangerous wildfires spread

CNN  

CNN — An extremely dangerous, unusually long heat wave is intensifying and spreading up the West Coast – and there will be no relief for days. “This level of heat throughout parts of the Mojave Desert and Sacramento/San Joaquin valleys of California could pose a risk to anyone if proper heat safety is not followed,” the weather service said. Parts …

Biden Announces New Rule To Protect Workers From Extreme Heat
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Biden Announces New Rule To Protect Workers From Extreme Heat

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING The Biden administration unveiled a sweeping rule on Tuesday to protect American workers from extreme heat — an already deadly threat that is becoming worse as climate change drives up temperatures around the globe. An average of 33 heat-related workplace deaths and 3,389 injuries and illnesses occurred each year from 1992 to 2020, although the U.S. Bureau …

Biden proposes new rule to protect 36 million workers from extreme heat
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Biden proposes new rule to protect 36 million workers from extreme heat

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday proposed a new rule to address excessive heat in the workplace, warning — as tens of millions of people in the U.S. are under heat advisories — that high temperatures are the country’s leading weather-related killer. If finalized, the measure would protect an estimated 36 million U.S. workers from injuries related to heat …

The toll of extreme heat rises in California as OSHA advances worker protections
5 months, 3 weeks ago

The toll of extreme heat rises in California as OSHA advances worker protections

LA Times  

As California heads into a dangerous holiday heat wave that will blanket millions of residents in triple-digit temperatures, state and federal officials are vowing to do more to address the worsening threat — and the rising costs — of extreme heat. Explore the section At the same time, California’s Department of Insurance this week released a first-of-its kind analysis revealing …

Extended California heat wave brings extreme health, fire risk; power shutoffs likely
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Extended California heat wave brings extreme health, fire risk; power shutoffs likely

LA Times  

Temperatures in the 90s spur people to head to the San Gabriel Mountains to take a dip in Lytle Creek. “Across inland areas, as well as at higher elevations, it’s entirely possible that temperatures may be continuously above average for the next 2+ weeks–straight, into mid-July.” He said the duration of the heat event, caused by a type of high-pressure …

Major heat wave expected to broil much of California over Fourth of July week
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Major heat wave expected to broil much of California over Fourth of July week

LA Times  

A beachgoer leaps over a breaking wave while heading into the water with her body board at Balboa Pier in Newport Beach earlier this month. A major heat wave expected across California over Fourth of July week is already prompting heat warnings for much of the state, with triple-digit temperatures forecast and little overnight relief. Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate …

California workplace safety board approves heat protections for indoor workers, excluding prisons
6 months ago

California workplace safety board approves heat protections for indoor workers, excluding prisons

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — On the first day of summer with parts of California sweltering under a heat advisory, a state worker safety board approved standards Thursday that would require employers to protect workers from indoor heat, but would exempt state correctional facilities. But tackling indoor heat protections has taken years even though the state passed legislation in 2016 to draft …

State board approves protections for hot workplaces
6 months ago

State board approves protections for hot workplaces

LA Times  

Employees at fast-food restaurants at a rally in 2023 outside the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce to raise awareness about their calls for better working conditions. Relief is on the horizon for California fast-food workers operating hot kitchen appliances, logistics workers in vast inland warehouses that lack cooling equipment and others laboring in hot indoor settings as a state agency …

Editorial: Climate change is making more California homes dangerously hot. It’s time state laws caught up
6 months ago

Editorial: Climate change is making more California homes dangerously hot. It’s time state laws caught up

LA Times  

Farmworker Leticia Jimenez wipes sweat from her forehead as her window air conditioner struggles to put out cool air during extreme hot temperatures at the Oasis Mobile Home Park in Thermal, Calif. Instead they passed watered-down language that directed the Department of Housing and Community Development to come up with recommendations for maximum indoor air temperatures that ensure homes are …

Editorial: California is facing another record-breaking hot summer. We aren’t ready
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Editorial: California is facing another record-breaking hot summer. We aren’t ready

LA Times  

After a chilly spring it seems hard to believe that the gloom would ever leave Southern California. For example, the governor’s office revamped the state’s extreme heat plan with a new 72-page document detailing four “tracks” to protect California from the effects of rising temperatures, including developing a public heath monitoring system, helping communities prepare for heat waves and increasing …

In scramble to protect workers against heat, California officials exclude prisons from new rules
8 months ago

In scramble to protect workers against heat, California officials exclude prisons from new rules

LA Times  

Workers at an Amazon warehouse in San Bernardino have complained of excessive heat in the workplace. After last-minute objections from state officials thwarted plans to implement protections for workers in hot warehouses and other indoor facilities, California’s workplace safety agency is trying again to adopt the measures before the summer heat arrives. They raised concerns about the costs that California …

California work safety board approves indoor heat rules, but another state agency raises objections
9 months ago

California work safety board approves indoor heat rules, but another state agency raises objections

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — As global warming raises temperatures, a California work safety board has approved standards that would require companies to protect employees from excessive indoor heat, particularly in warehouses. The rules were approved Thursday by the board of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, commonly known as Cal/OSHA, despite a late objection from the state Department of …

California work safety board approves indoor heat rules, but another state agency raises objections
9 months ago

California work safety board approves indoor heat rules, but another state agency raises objections

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy As global warming raises temperatures, …

Newsom administration delays landmark workplace heat safety rules over cost concerns
9 months ago

Newsom administration delays landmark workplace heat safety rules over cost concerns

LA Times  

Landmark regulations intended to protect millions of California workers from worsening heat conditions in warehouses and other indoor facilities were left in limbo Thursday after the Newsom administration objected to the cost of the rules. “So if you think about someone’s body temperature heating up when they’re moving quickly, they’re much more susceptible to hot indoor environments.” Opinion Editorial: Extreme …

Editorial: California needs to protect schoolchildren from extreme heat
1 year, 3 months ago

Editorial: California needs to protect schoolchildren from extreme heat

LA Times  

Students on the first day of school at Sunkist Elementary on Aug. 11, 2022, in Anaheim. Children are more vulnerable than adults to extreme heat, but at too many California schools authorities just aren’t moving with urgency to protect them from a fast-warming climate. That’s unacceptable and increasingly dangerous as climate change intensifies heat waves and pushes them longer into …

Poll: California should do more to respond to extreme heat waves, voters say
1 year, 3 months ago

Poll: California should do more to respond to extreme heat waves, voters say

LA Times  

Heat rises from freshly paved asphalt as a worker carries an umbrella to ward off the sun in July, in Woodland Hills. As California endures the increasing likelihood of record heat waves driven by climate change, voters are questioning government’s response to sweltering conditions and say they would welcome stronger policies to help minimize heat’s impact. More than three-fourths of …

Workers exposed to extreme heat have no consistent protection in the US
1 year, 3 months ago

Workers exposed to extreme heat have no consistent protection in the US

Associated Press  

RENO, Nev. — Santos Brizuela spent more than two decades laboring outdoors, persisting despite a bout of heatstroke while cutting sugarcane in Mexico and chronic laryngitis from repeated exposure to the hot sun while on various other jobs. But extreme heat protections have generally lagged with “no owner” in state and federal governments, said Ladd Keith, an assistant professor of …

As California bakes, Newsom launches $20-million campaign to warn of the dangers of extreme heat
1 year, 5 months ago

As California bakes, Newsom launches $20-million campaign to warn of the dangers of extreme heat

LA Times  

Ivan Mendez protects his face from the blazing sun while making repairs at a home in Santa Clarita. “California is launching Heat Ready CA as another tool in the state’s arsenal to protect people from extreme heat. We’re asking everyone to stay alert to changing weather and take the necessary steps to keep themselves and their families safer from deadly …

Editorial: California needs extreme heat rules to protect workers
1 year, 8 months ago

Editorial: California needs extreme heat rules to protect workers

LA Times  

California has suffered some of its worst heat waves on record in recent years. But more than a million other workers in largely non-air-conditioned warehouses, factories, kitchens and other workplaces remain unprotected, despite a legal deadline to have indoor heat standards in place by 2019. Late last month the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, announced it …

Editorial: Dangerous heat is broiling California. But lawmakers still aren’t doing enough
2 years, 3 months ago

Editorial: Dangerous heat is broiling California. But lawmakers still aren’t doing enough

LA Times  

The worst heat wave of the year is bearing down on California, but efforts by state lawmakers to take coordinated action to protect residents from these climate-fueled disasters have largely fizzled out. Proposed legislation would have, among other things, created a chief heat officer position to coordinate the state’s response to extreme temperatures, required health officials to report heat-related deaths …

Heat waves can be deadly. California workers, lawmakers push for federal labor protections
2 years, 3 months ago

Heat waves can be deadly. California workers, lawmakers push for federal labor protections

LA Times  

Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Judy Chu join union workers in Los Angeles on Tuesday to push for a law that would establish a federal standard to protect workers from hazardous heat. It’s horrible.” Ahead of Southern California’s triple-digit heat wave this week, union workers were joined by Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Judy Chu in a Tuesday news conference, …

California heat waves are getting worse. Blame the vicious ‘heat dome’
2 years, 3 months ago

California heat waves are getting worse. Blame the vicious ‘heat dome’

LA Times  

The high-pressure system over most of California is expected to bring record-breaking temperatures, part of a “self-perpetuating” system that is becoming more extreme as climate change worsens. The extreme temperatures that will bear down on California over the next week are the result of a “heat dome,” a phenomenon that typically brings broiling conditions to the state as summer fades …

Gov. Newsom announces plan to deal with extreme heat
2 years, 11 months ago

Gov. Newsom announces plan to deal with extreme heat

LA Times  

Felisa Benitez, 86, takes a break on the porch of her Pacoima home on a 99-degree day in August 2021. Gavin Newsom’s administration this week announced a plan for addressing extreme heat that includes recommendations on how to monitor deaths caused by heat waves and the possible establishment of temperature limits for residential units. “Extreme heat threatens public health and …

Poor neighborhoods bear the brunt of extreme heat, ‘legacies of racist decision-making’
3 years, 1 month ago

Poor neighborhoods bear the brunt of extreme heat, ‘legacies of racist decision-making’

LA Times  

It was a typical summer day in Los Angeles, but a satellite orbiting hundreds of miles above Earth could detect that it was getting much hotter in some neighborhoods than others. “What planet are we leaving them?” Extreme heat is killing far more Californians than the state acknowledges, a Los Angeles Times analysis has found, but climate change isn’t the …

Editorial: Climate change is fueling extreme heat. California can do much more to save lives
3 years, 2 months ago

Editorial: Climate change is fueling extreme heat. California can do much more to save lives

LA Times  

Diane McClinden, 63, and her dog Frankie try to stay cool in their trailer home in Desert Hot Springs on July 26, when the temperature reached 97 degrees. California may be a leader in fighting climate change, but the state is unprepared for one of the deadliest consequences of global warming — extreme heat. Here’s one reason state leaders have …

Workers Are Dying Of Heat Outdoors Without Standards To Protect Them
3 years, 4 months ago

Workers Are Dying Of Heat Outdoors Without Standards To Protect Them

NPR  

Workers Are Dying Of Heat Outdoors Without Standards To Protect Them Farmworkers, construction workers and firefighters are dying from excessive heat on the job. California's heat standard, held up as a model for the rest of the nation, requires shade, water and breaks when workers ask for them, though they're often unpaid. Since California's heat standard went into effect in …

‘What choice do we have?’ US farm workers battle deadly heatwave
3 years, 5 months ago

‘What choice do we have?’ US farm workers battle deadly heatwave

Al Jazeera  

As record-setting temperatures engulf the West Coast of the United States, farm workers must often choose between their wages and their health. We can’t afford to stop.” Piecemeal protections Many farm workers are labouring under soaring temperatures with few protections in place to safeguard their health, advocates say, even as heatwaves that have resulted in hundreds of deaths engulf the …

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