Background

On Jan. 14, 2025, ABC submitted comments to OSHA on its Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings proposed rule, which would apply to all employers conducting outdoor and indoor work in general industry, construction, maritime and agriculture sectors where OSHA has jurisdiction and require employers to develop programs and implement controls to protect employees from heat hazards.

It is ABC’s purpose to ensure all our construction workers get home in the same—or better—condition than when they arrived on the jobsite every day.

A culture of both mental health and physical safety cannot exist without leadership taking a stand that includes an unwillingness to compromise health and safety and modeling this belief in their every action.

Challenging and transforming the status quo to create a belief that all incidents are preventable creates a culture where health and safety is considered a moral obligation not just for leadership, but for all employees.

ABC strongly supports worker health and safety and protection from heat injury and illness, while maintaining flexibility for the fluid nature of the construction environment.

Throughout the heat rulemaking, ABC has continued to urge OSHA to focus on the key concepts of “water, rest, shade” and provide construction employers the necessary flexibility to make such a standard effective.

Unfortunately, the proposed rule imposes prescriptive, complicated requirements on construction industry employers, limiting all flexibility, which could weaken contractor efforts to prevent heat stress for workers.

For example, the proposed rule’s heat triggers are unworkable; rest breaks should be flexible; the proposed rule’s acclimatization schedule for new and returning employees will be particularly onerous for the construction industry; OSHA lacks the statutory authority to define “employee representative”; OSHA should clarify who can serve as the heat safety coordinator; effective two-way communication should be practicable; and the proposed rule’s prescriptive requirements will create challenges for small businesses.

OSHA failed to recognize the practical applications needed on construction jobsites. Employers and employees need flexibility to account for differences among worksites, geographical locations, work responsibilities and available technology.

Further, ABC has consistently urged OSHA to develop a separate regulatory approach for the construction industry. Combining all employers conducting outdoor and indoor work in general industry, construction, maritime and agriculture sectors into one regulatory approach is misguided at best.

Desired Result

ABC believes employers should equip their employees and leadership teams to develop their own health and safety plans, unique to their jobsites. ABC provides tools to employers so that they can equip and empower supervisors to recognize the signs and symptoms of heat illness as well as provide necessary water, rest and shade that is dependent on local conditions.

ABC’s members work to ensure that jobsites are safe and strive to implement the most appropriate practices for working in extreme heat conditions that focus on the individual worker.

ABC urges OSHA to withdraw the Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Settings rule as proposed and revise it to allow greater flexibility for affected industries and, at a minimum, develop a separate standard for the construction industry.