Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries received plenty of feedback during its final presentation of proposed heat rules for outdoor workers.
The new, year-around rules would replace permanent rules from 2008 that only apply from May to September. Worker protections would begin at a threshold of 80 degrees — lower than the threshold of 89 degrees set by L&I’s emergency rules.
It was L&I’s final stakeholder meeting before public comment closes Sept. 26. L&I hopes to launch the new rules in June 2023.
Many questions presented by attendees on the Zoom call were industry-specific. Some utility providers felt the required breaks during high temperatures interfered with emergency work on critical infrastructure.
“There are times when protecting the entire grid necessitates this sort of activity,” said Nicolas Garcia, who was attending on behalf of the Washington Public Utility Districts Association. “We think it would make sense to have some sort of emergency exemption in this case when dealing with an emergency situation.”
Last week, Familias Unidas por la Justicia, an independent farmworker union based in Skagit County, led a march in Olympia demanding a trigger temperature of 75 degrees for the new heat protections. Organizers also called for the governor to declare a climate emergency.
In a news conference before their rally, farmworker Alfredo Juarez said the current heat rules weren’t being applied. He also demanded hazard pay starting at $20 an hour when the temperature reached 80 degrees and a paid work stoppage any time temperatures were above 90 degrees.
Several questions were raised about the use of the heat index as opposed to wet bulb globe temperature when measuring temperatures. The heat index measures how hot it feels when relative humidity and air temperature are considered, while measuring the wet bulb globe temperature requires a more complex tool incorporating temperature, humidity, wind, solar radiation and other weather parameters, according to the National Weather Service. It is used by OSHA and the U.S. military to determine the safety of outdoor activity.
The measurements can have significantly different results, with the heat index typically higher.
At the meeting, L&I officials focused on definitions for additions to the 2008 rules, including acclimatization, proper shade and educational obligations for employers. They clarified that any worker who is working outdoors for less than 15 minutes each hour is not subject to these rules.
Laura Rascón Padilla and Bob Farrar, L&I’s technical specialists, said that when workers are exposed to outdoor heat, there are a variety of individual factors — from health to age to physical fitness — which could call for longer periods of acclimatization.
Rascón Padilla emphasized the importance of annual education from employers so that outdoor workers would be aware of their needs and rights based on individual conditions, as well as signs of heat-related illness and preventative heat rules in place.
At its Aug. 4 stakeholder meeting, L&I announced work/rest cycles.
When temperatures are higher than 90 degrees, employees would get paid breaks. The length of those breaks would depend on the temperature and humidity, and Farrar said those breaks could come during unpaid meal periods.
But Ryan Allen, standards, technical and lab services senior program manager at L&I, said the agency is taking a step back from work/rest cycle rulemaking.
“We need more time to engage with stakeholders in this area. There’s a lot to it, there’s a lot of different industries, there’s a lot of different impacts,” Allen said. “We want to take some time to learn from this rulemaking effort and continue to engage with stakeholders moving forward in this area to best establish something that’s feasible and protective.”
