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WATCH<\/a>: Padilla pushes for enforceable workplace heat stress protections after hottest year on record<\/em><\/p>\n \n WASHINGTON, D.C.<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Today, on the heels of another harsh heat wave across California, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representative Judy Chu (D-Calif.-28) joined union workers from the United Farm Workers (UFW), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and United Steelworkers to announce\u00a0their bipartisan, bicameral\u00a0legislation to implement federal enforceable workplace heat stress protections.<\/p>\n \n Co-leads of the legislation include U.S. Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Representatives Robert C. \u201cBobby\u201d Scott (D-Va.-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, and Alma Adams (D-N.C.-12).<\/p>\n \n To address the increasing risks from extreme temperatures, the lawmakers introduced the\u00a0Asunci\u00f3n Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act<\/em>, legislation to protect the safety and health of indoor and outdoor workers who are exposed to dangerous heat conditions in the workplace. The legislation would protect workers against occupational exposure to excessive heat by requiring the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to establish an enforceable federal standard to protect workers in high-heat environments with commonsense measures like paid breaks in cool spaces, access to water, limitations on time exposed to heat, and emergency response for workers with heat-related illness. The bill also directs employers to provide training for their employees on the risk factors that can lead to heat illness and guidance on the proper procedures for responding to symptoms.<\/p>\n \n The bill is named in honor of Asunci\u00f3n Valdivia, who died in 2004 after picking grapes for 10 hours straight in 105-degree temperatures. Mr. Valdivia fell unconscious, but instead of calling an ambulance, his employer told Mr. Valdivia\u2019s son to drive his father home. On his way home, he died of heat stroke at the age of 53.<\/p>\n \n \u201cAsunci\u00f3n Valdivia\u2019s death was completely preventable, yet his story is sadly not unique. As the planet continues to grow hotter, there is still no federally enforceable heat safety standard for workers. That\u2019s not just dangerous for the farm workers and construction workers who work all day outside in the sun \u2014 it\u2019s also dangerous for the factory and restaurant workers in boiling warehouses and kitchens,\u201d\u00a0said Senator Padilla.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cEvery family deserves to know that even on the hottest day, their loved one will come back home. A national heat safety standard would provide that peace of mind and finally give workers the safety they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \u201cEven as heat waves become more frequent, longer-lasting, and more severe, red state politicians are rolling back heat protections and child labor protections across the country. It\u2019s not rocket science\u2014you cannot be pro-worker if you are anti-heat protection,\u201d\u00a0said Senator Markey.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cOur legislation would provide workers with basic, effective protections: access to water, access to shade, time limits on high heat exposure, and procedures for emergency medical response. Every worker deserves to know when they clock in that they will return home safe at the end of their shift.\u00a0 The thermometer is rising and the clock is ticking. Republicans want to sacrifice working Americans. Let\u2019s save our workers instead.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \u201cFrom farmhands to construction workers, America\u2019s essential workforce is doing important work while under extreme heat conditions,\u201d\u00a0said Senator Cortez Masto.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cTemperatures continue to reach record highs in Nevada and across the United States. We must act now to protect our communities\u2019 vital workers.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \u201cAs we continue to experience record-breaking summer heat waves, we\u2019re also seeing a distressing increase in cases of workers collapsing and even losing their lives due to excessive heat. I will never forget people like Asunci\u00f3n Valdivia or Esteban Chavez Jr., who passed away in Pasadena, California in 2022 after a day of delivering packages in 90-degree heat in a truck without air conditioning. Unfortunately, their tragic deaths were entirely preventable,\u201d\u00a0said Representative Chu.\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cWhether on a farm, driving a truck, or working in a warehouse, workers like Asunci\u00f3n and Esteban keep our country running while enduring some of the most difficult conditions\u2014often without access to water or rest. To protect our workforce and save lives, we must pass this bill into law and establish comprehensive and enforceable federal standards addressing heat stress on the job.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \u201cThis summer, Americans across the country are grappling with some of the hottest temperatures on record. Yet workers in this country still have no legal protection against excessive heat\u2014one of the oldest, most serious, and most common workplace hazards. Heat illness affects workers in our nation\u2019s fields, warehouses, and factories, and climate change is making the problem more severe every year,\u201d\u00a0said Ranking Member Scott, House Committee on Education and Workforce.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThis legislation will require OSHA to issue a heat standard on a much faster track than the normal OSHA regulatory process. I was proud to advance this important bill in 2022, and I urge Chairman Walberg and Committee Republicans to do so again this Congress. Workers deserve nothing less, particularly as heat-related illnesses and deaths rise.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \u201cAs we face record temperatures, it has never been more important that we protect our workers facing extreme heat in the workplace,\u201d\u00a0said Representative Adams.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cLast year, a North Carolina postal worker Wendy Johnson lost her life to heat illness after spending hours in the back of a postal truck on a 95-degree day with no air conditioning. Her death was entirely preventable, and Wendy should still be with us today. I\u2019m proud to introduce this bill so we can honor her memory and ensure every worker has the protections from extreme heat that Wendy deserved.\u201d<\/p>\n \n According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2024 was the warmest year on record for the United States. The past decade, including 2024, was the hottest on record, marking a decade of extreme heat that will only get worse. Heat-related illnesses can cause heat cramps, organ damage, heat exhaustion, stroke, and even death. Between 1992 and 2017, heat stress injuries killed 815 U.S. workers and seriously injured more than 70,000. The\u00a0Washington Center for Equitable Growth<\/a>\u00a0estimates hot temperatures caused at least 360,000 workplace injuries in California from 2001 to 2018, or about 20,000 injuries a year. The failure to implement simple heat safety measures costs U.S. employers nearly $100 billion every year in lost productivity.<\/p>\n \n From 2011-2020, heat exposure killed at least 400 workers and caused nearly 34,000 injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work; both are likely vast underestimates. Farm workers and construction workers suffer the highest incidence of heat illness. And no matter what the weather is outside, workers in factories, commercial kitchens, and other workplaces, including ones where workers must wear personal protective equipment (PPE), can face dangerously high heat conditions all year round.<\/p>\n \n The\u00a0Asunci\u00f3n Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act<\/em>\u00a0has the support of a broad coalition of over 250 groups, including: Rural Coalition, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, AFL-CIO, UNITE HERE!, Communication Workers of America, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Sierra Club, United Farm Workers, Farmworker Justice, Public Citizen, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Union of Concerned Scientists, United Steelworkers, National Resources Defense Council, American Lung Association, and Health Partnerships.<\/p>\n \n \u201cEvery worker safety rule in America is written in blood,\u201d\u00a0said UFW President Teresa Romero.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThe UFW has been fighting for heat safety protections for decades. Over 20 years later, Asuncion Valdivia\u2019s death still hurts. There are so many other farm workers \u2014 many whose names we do not know \u2014 who have also been killed by extreme heat on the job in the years since. Enough is enough. Every farm worker deserves access to water, shade, and paid rest breaks \u2014 it\u2019s past time for Congress get this done.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \u201cToo many workers \u2013 including AFSCME members \u2013 have lost their lives on the job as a result of blistering heat waves and record-breaking temperatures,\u201d\u00a0said AFSCME President Lee Saunders.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cAs the number of heat-related illnesses and fatalities continue to rise, it is well past time we adopt nationwide safeguards to better protect the workers who maintain our infrastructure, keep our streets clean, harvest our food, and keep our economy moving. We at AFSCME thank Senator Padilla and Representative Chu for introducing the Asunci\u00f3n Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act, which will ensure essential workers who brave the heat can do their jobs safely and effectively, and most importantly, make it home alive.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \u201cFor the Steelworkers Union, we represent workers in manufacturing settings and in a host of other areas where not only is it hot outside, but the areas that they work around are as hot as up to 3,000 degrees and they must wear protective equipment. The\u00a0Asunci\u00f3n Valdivia Heat, Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act<\/em>\u00a0is important because it will provide a basic standard for not just outdoor, but indoor workplaces as well to ensure that there is proper rest breaks and the ability to stay cool. The Steelworkers are absolutely supportive of this bill and are going to work with Republicans and Democrats to ensure that heat illness is the last thing a worker should worry about,\u201d\u00a0said Roy Houseman, Legislative Director of United Steelworkers.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n \u201cEveryone deserves safe working conditions, but powerful corporations have not done enough to protect their workers from hot working environments, exacerbated by the climate crisis,\u201d\u00a0said Liz Shuler, President of the AFL-CIO.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cExtreme heat is increasingly causing indoor and outdoor workers to collapse or even die on the job, and our union family has already lost too many members to preventable, work-related heat illness. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) must issue a strong heat rule, not a weak one, to ensure workers have specific protections they need and to be able to raise unsafe working conditions without fear of retaliation.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s long past time for meaningful legislation to protect Teamsters and other workers from the effects of prolonged heat exposure and dangerous heat levels while at work,\u201d\u00a0said Teamsters General President Sean M. O\u2019Brien.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cPaid breaks in cool spaces, access to water, and limitations on time exposed to heat are simple common sense steps that should be mandated immediately. Waiting to implement these measures is unacceptable and will result in the further loss of lives.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \u201cWorkers in America are facing unprecedented dangers from climate-driven heat and extreme weather, and things are only getting worse. It is far past time for a strong national standard to protect workers from illness and death caused by exposure to extreme heat. The provisions mandated in this bill, including temperature triggers, acclimatization, water, shade and paid rest breaks, would save countless lives. They represent a common sense and common decency approach that employers could quickly adopt. American workers deserve no less, and they urgently need it. Today, OSHA is in the final stage of issuing a final rule on this issue. It is imperative that the rule maintain the integrity and high standards called for in the Asunc\u00edon Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act. We applaud Senators Padilla, Markey, and Cortez Masto and Representatives Chu, Adams, and Scott, as well as the dozens of Senators and Congresspersons who have joined them in this long effort. It\u2019s time to bring a high quality, protective standard to the finish line for American workers,\u201d\u00a0said Ernesto Archila, Climate and Financial Regulation Policy Director, Public Citizen.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cEvery summer high temperature records get broken in states across the country, and while public health officials urge residents to stay inside and stay safe millions of workers have to report for work. From fields to warehouses, airports to schools, construction sites to manufacturing plants, and many more industries, too many workers are at risk of not getting home safely at the end of the day due to exposure to heat on the job. We know how to prevent these dangers. In fact, both outdoor and indoor workers in states like Oregon, California, and Maryland have strong, enforceable protections in place already. And in Washington, Colorado, and Minnesota at least some categories of workers are being kept safe from heat. But millions labor in other states where there are no protections; worker safety is left to the federal government in these states, and absent strong rules workers are left to protect themselves and hope for the best. We must extend workplace protections from heat to\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0workers. The National Employment Law Project thanks Senator Padilla and Representative Chu, as well as the dozens of Senators and Congresspersons who have cosponsored the Asunci\u00f3n Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act of 2025,\u201d\u00a0said Anastasia Christman, Senior Policy Analyst, National Employment Law Project.<\/strong><\/p>\n \n The bill is cosponsored by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).<\/p>\n \n Senator\u00a0Padilla has acted urgently to address the threats posed by extreme\u00a0heat\u00a0as the climate crisis becomes more severe. Padilla\u00a0successfully called on<\/a>\u00a0OSHA to establish the first-ever federal safety standard to protect workers from the severe risks of excessive\u00a0heat, implementing key provisions from the\u00a0Asunci\u00f3n Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act<\/em>. Padilla and his colleagues\u00a0also led\u00a0112 members of<\/a>\u00a0Congress in calling on the Biden Administration to implement a workplace federal heat standard as quickly as possible. The letter urged OSHA to model the standard after the provisions in the\u00a0Asunci\u00f3n Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act<\/em>.\u00a0Additionally, Padilla and Markey\u2019s\u00a0Preventing Health Emergencies and Temperature-related (HEAT) Illness and Deaths Act<\/a><\/em>\u00a0advanced<\/a>\u00a0out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation last year.<\/p>\n \n