2024 -- S 2900 | |
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LC004966 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024 | |
____________ | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EXTREME TEMPERATURE | |
WORKER PROTECTION ACT | |
| |
Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, F. Lombardi, Miller, Ciccone, and Sosnowski | |
Date Introduced: March 22, 2024 | |
Referred To: Senate Labor | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Title 28 of the General Laws entitled "LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS" |
2 | is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: |
3 | CHAPTER 5.2 |
4 | EXTREME TEMPERATURE WORKER PROTECTION ACT |
5 | 28-5.2-1. Title. |
6 | The act shall be known and may be cited as the "Extreme Temperature Worker Protection |
7 | Act." |
8 | 28-5.2-2. Purpose. |
9 | (a) This chapter applies to employers in industries where employees are regularly exposed |
10 | to extreme hot or cold working environments in indoor and outdoor settings, including, but not |
11 | limited to, agriculture, construction, landscaping, warehouse, manufacturing, mail and package |
12 | delivery, utilities, oil and gas operations, airport service workers, and food service workers. This |
13 | chapter is supplemental to all related federal and industry specific standards. When the |
14 | requirements under this chapter offer greater protection than related federal or industry-specific |
15 | standards, an employer shall comply with the requirements of this chapter. |
16 | (b) Workers who are exposed to extreme heat or cold or work in extreme temperature |
17 | environments may be at risk of heat or cold stress. Exposure to extreme heat can result in |
18 | occupational illnesses, injuries and death, including heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, or |
| |
1 | heat rashes. Exposure to extreme cold can result in occupational illness, injuries and death, |
2 | including hypothermia, frostbite, or trench foot. Each year, thousands of workers become sick from |
3 | occupational heat and cold exposure, and too many of those illnesses result in fatalities. Employees |
4 | new to working in the heat are most vulnerable. Nearly three (3) out of four (4) workers who die |
5 | from heat-related causes die in their first week on the job. |
6 | (c) Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 651, |
7 | employers are responsible for providing workplaces free of known safety and health hazards. This |
8 | includes protecting workers from temperature-related hazards. Employers must evaluate the |
9 | temperature and all contributing factors to heat and cold stress, including metabolic workloads, |
10 | radiant and conductive heat sources, humidity, air movement, and wearing of protective equipment. |
11 | Employers must then ensure a safe workplace by implementing a plan to reduce exposure to |
12 | hazardous temperatures through providing paid rest breaks, adequate shade or warmth, adequate |
13 | drinking water, training for supervisors and staff, and other key elements to protect workers. |
14 | 28-5.2-3. Definitions. |
15 | As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings |
16 | unless another meaning is clearly intended by the context. |
17 | (1) "Acclimatization" means the temporary physiological adaptation of the body to work |
18 | in hot environments that occurs gradually. During an acclimatization period, a person should be |
19 | exposed to no more than twenty percent (20%) of the usual duration of work in the hot environment |
20 | on day one and no more than a twenty percent (20%) increase each day. Most people acclimatize |
21 | within seven (7) to fourteen (14) workdays. |
22 | (2) "Administrative control" means a method to limit exposure to a hazard by adjustment |
23 | of work procedures, practices, or schedules. Examples of administrative controls that may be |
24 | effective at minimizing the risk of heat or cold illness in a particular work area include, but are not |
25 | limited to: acclimatizing employees, rotating employees, scheduling work earlier or later in the day, |
26 | organizing work location and tasks at certain times of the day to avoid direct sunlight, using |
27 | work/rest schedules, reducing work intensity or speed, reducing work hours, and changing required |
28 | work clothing. |
29 | (3) "Cold illness" means a serious medical condition resulting from the body's inability to |
30 | cope with cold temperatures, and includes, but is not limited to, trench foot, frostbite, hypothermia, |
31 | and chilblains. |
32 | (4) "Cool-down area" means an indoor or outdoor area that is blocked from direct sunlight |
33 | and shielded from other high radiant heat sources and is either open to the air or provided with |
34 | ventilation or cooling. One indicator that blockage is sufficient is when objects do not cast a shadow |
| LC004966 - Page 2 of 13 |
1 | in the area of blocked sunlight. A cool-down area does not include a location where: |
2 | (i) Environmental risk factors defeat the purpose of allowing the body to cool; or |
3 | (ii) Employees are exposed to unsafe or unhealthy conditions; or |
4 | (iii) Employees are deterred or discouraged from accessing or using the cool-down area. |
5 | (5) "Drinking water" means fresh, pure, cool (less than seventy-five degrees (75°) |
6 | Fahrenheit) potable water, provided free of charge to employees. The term includes electrolyte- |
7 | replenishing beverages that do not contain caffeine. |
8 | (6) "Employee" means any person providing labor or services within the scope of this |
9 | chapter for remuneration for a private entity or business within the state, without regard to an |
10 | individual's immigration status, and shall include, but not be limited to, private and public sector |
11 | workers, part-time workers, independent contractors, day laborers, farmworkers, and other |
12 | temporary and seasonal workers. The term shall also include individuals working for staffing |
13 | agencies, contractors or subcontractors on behalf of the employer at any individual worksite, as |
14 | well as any individual delivering goods or transporting people at, to or from the worksite on behalf |
15 | of the employer, regardless of whether delivery or transport is conducted by an individual or entity |
16 | that would otherwise be deemed an employer under this chapter. |
17 | (7) "Employer" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, limited |
18 | liability company, business trust, legal representative, public entity, or any organized group acting |
19 | as employer within the scope of this standard. |
20 | (8) "Engineering control" means the use of substitution, isolation, ventilation, and |
21 | equipment modification to reduce exposure to heat illness related workplace hazards and job tasks. |
22 | Examples of engineering controls that may be effective at minimizing the risk of heat illness in a |
23 | particular work area include, but are not limited to, isolation of hot processes, isolation of |
24 | employees from sources of heat, air conditioning, cooling fans, cooling mist fans, evaporative |
25 | coolers (also called "swamp coolers"), natural ventilation where the outdoor temperature and heat |
26 | index is lower than the indoor temperature and heat index, local exhaust ventilation, shielding from |
27 | a radiant heat source, and insulation of hot surfaces. |
28 | (9) "Heat illness" means a serious medical condition resulting from the body's inability to |
29 | cope with a particular heat load, and includes, but is not limited to, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, |
30 | heat syncope, and heat stroke. |
31 | (10) "Indoor worksite" means any enclosed work vehicles and any space between a floor |
32 | and a ceiling bound on all sides by walls except where noted in the definition of "outdoor worksite" |
33 | below. A wall includes any door, window, retractable divider, garage door, or other physical barrier |
34 | that is temporary or permanent, whether open or closed. |
| LC004966 - Page 3 of 13 |
1 | (11) "Indoor temperature stress threshold" means a heat stress threshold of eighty degrees |
2 | (80°) Fahrenheit or more and a cold threshold of sixty degrees (60°) Fahrenheit or below. In cases |
3 | of offices, schools, or other indoor temperature regulated environments, the indoor temperature |
4 | shall fall between sixty-eight point five degrees (68.5°) and seventy-five degrees (75°) Fahrenheit |
5 | when the outdoor temperature is below fifty-five degrees (55°) Fahrenheit, and when the outdoor |
6 | temperature is above eighty-five degrees (85°) Fahrenheit, the indoor temperature shall fall |
7 | between seventy-five degrees (75°) and eighty point five degrees (80.5°) Fahrenheit. |
8 | (12) "Outdoor worksite" means all employers with employees performing work in an |
9 | outdoor environment. The term includes locations such as sheds, tents, greenhouses, or other |
10 | structures where work activities are conducted inside, but the temperature is not managed by |
11 | devices that reduce heat or cold exposure and aid in heating or cooling, such as air conditioning |
12 | systems or heaters. Having only fans and humidifiers may still qualify worksites as outdoor. The |
13 | term outdoor worksite does not apply to incidental exposure, which exists when an employee is |
14 | required to perform a work activity outdoors for not longer than fifteen (15) minutes in any sixty |
15 | (60) minute period. |
16 | (13) "Outdoor temperature stress threshold" means a heat stress threshold of eighty degrees |
17 | (80°) Fahrenheit or more, and a cold threshold of sixty degrees (60°) Fahrenheit or below . |
18 | (14) "Personal protective equipment" or "PPE" means the protective gear, uniforms, and |
19 | clothing, to withstand temperatures at or exceeding the stress thresholds. Where feasible |
20 | engineering controls and administrative controls are not sufficient to reduce and maintain the |
21 | temperature and heat index to below eighty-seven degrees (87°) Fahrenheit when employees are |
22 | present or the temperature to below eighty-two degrees (82°) Fahrenheit where employees wear |
23 | clothing that restricts heat removal or work in high radiant heat areas, personal heat protective |
24 | equipment shall be used to minimize the risk of heat illness, except to the extent that the employer |
25 | demonstrates that use of such equipment is infeasible. |
26 | (15) "Preventative cool-down rest" means a rest taken in a cool-down area to prevent |
27 | overheating. |
28 | (16) "Temperature" means the temperature measured by a globe thermometer, which is a |
29 | type of apparent temperature used to estimate the effect of temperature, humidity, wind speed (wind |
30 | chill), and visible and infrared radiation (usually sunlight) on humans. The globe thermometer may |
31 | not be shielded from direct exposure to radiant heat while the globe temperature is being measured. |
32 | (17) "Union representative" means a recognized or certified collective bargaining agent |
33 | representing a group of employees, as defined in this section. |
34 | (18) "Heat wave" means any day in which the predicted high temperature for the day will |
| LC004966 - Page 4 of 13 |
1 | be at least ten degrees (10°) Fahrenheit higher than the average high daily temperature in the |
2 | preceding five (5) days. |
3 | (19) "Cold wave" means any day in which there is a rapid fall in temperature within a |
4 | twenty-four (24) hour period requiring substantially increased protection to agriculture, industry, |
5 | commerce and social activities. |
6 | 28-5.2-4. Temperature protection standards – Heat-stress specific standards. |
7 | (a) Heat-stress specific standards. The employer shall fulfill the following requirements |
8 | when employees are in an outdoor or indoor worksite and experiencing conditions at or exceeding |
9 | a heat stress threshold of eighty or more degrees (80°) Fahrenheit: |
10 | (1) The employer shall develop a written program to mitigate heat-related illnesses and |
11 | injuries experienced by employees. |
12 | (i) The written program shall identify and incorporate work processes and external factors |
13 | that increase the likelihood of heat-related illness, including, but not limited to, increased metabolic |
14 | workloads, radiant and conductive heat sources, increased humidity, decreased air movement; and |
15 | wearing of protective equipment. |
16 | (ii) Every employer shall provide and display a thermometer for employee use at all |
17 | workplaces to monitor the temperature indoors, outdoors and in vehicles. |
18 | (iii) Employers shall identify and implement engineering controls, and administrative |
19 | controls before relying on personal protective equipment. |
20 | (iv) The written program shall include information on education and training. |
21 | (v) The written program shall include emergency response plans, procedures and relevant |
22 | worksite contacts in case of an emergency. The written program shall be updated at least annually, |
23 | when major work conditions change, and when a heat-related incident occurs. |
24 | (b) Access to hydration. The employer shall provide access to drinking water located as |
25 | close as practical to where employees are working. If drinking water is not plumbed or otherwise |
26 | continuously supplied, it shall be provided in sufficient quantity at the beginning of the shift, a |
27 | minimum of one quart of drinking water per hour. Frequent drinking of water shall be encouraged. |
28 | (c) Rest. The employer shall require and encourage preventative cool down breaks of no |
29 | less than ten (10) minutes, in addition to the time needed to access the cool-down area, as needed |
30 | in the shade for outdoor work or a cooler indoor breakroom for indoor workers. |
31 | (1) Employees who take a preventative cool-down rest shall be monitored and asked about |
32 | symptoms of heat illness. |
33 | (2) Employees shall be encouraged to remain in the cool down area and not be ordered |
34 | back to work until any signs or symptoms of heat illness have been abated. |
| LC004966 - Page 5 of 13 |
1 | (3) The preventative cool-down rest period required by this section may be provided |
2 | concurrently with any other meal or rest period required by policy, rule or law if the timing of the |
3 | preventative cool-down rest period coincides with the otherwise required meal or rest period. |
4 | Except when such a rest period coincides with the existing unpaid meal break, the preventative |
5 | cool-down rest period is a work assignment and shall be compensated accordingly. |
6 | (d) Medical monitoring. Employers shall closely monitor temperatures using a globe |
7 | thermometer and implement their workplace heat stress plan when temperatures exceed eighty |
8 | degrees (80°) Fahrenheit. If an employee exhibits signs or reports symptoms of heat illness, the |
9 | employer shall immediately provide appropriate first aid or emergency response. |
10 | (e) Access to shade. |
11 | (1) Shade shall be made available when the temperature exceeds eighty degrees (80°) |
12 | Fahrenheit and shall be as close to the worksite as possible while employees are present. The |
13 | amount of shade present shall be at least enough to accommodate the number of employees on |
14 | recovery or rest periods with at least four square feet (4ft2) per resting employee. |
15 | (2) Where feasible, work must be performed in the shade. |
16 | (3) When the temperature does not exceed eighty degrees (80°) Fahrenheit, the employer |
17 | shall provide timely access to shade upon an employee's request. |
18 | (4) Access to shade shall not exceed the temperature of the worksite and, for example, may |
19 | extend to a hot motor vehicle. |
20 | (f) Personal protective equipment. Employers shall provide the necessary protective |
21 | equipment at no cost to the employee. |
22 | (g) Vehicle standards. Employees who spend more than sixty (60) minutes in vehicles each |
23 | day or whose worksite is considered a vehicle shall have adequate air conditioning available inside |
24 | such vehicle maintained according to the manufacturer's instructions to keep temperatures below |
25 | eighty degrees (80°) Fahrenheit. |
26 | (h) Worker acclimatization. Employers shall provide time for acclimatization of new and |
27 | returning employees. |
28 | (1) New employees and existing employees newly assigned to heat work or absent from |
29 | heat work for more than seven (7) days shall only work twenty percent (20%) of their normal |
30 | duration on their first day and gradually increase work duration over a two (2) week period. |
31 | (2) All employees shall be closely observed by a supervisor or designee during a heat wave. |
32 | A heat wave will automatically trigger provisions under high heat procedures. |
33 | (i) High heat procedures. The employer shall implement high heat procedures when the |
34 | temperature equals or exceeds ninety degrees (90 °) Fahrenheit or when a heat wave is experienced. |
| LC004966 - Page 6 of 13 |
1 | (1) The employer shall ensure that the employee takes a minimum ten (10) minute net |
2 | preventative cool-down rest period every two (2) hours. |
3 | (2) The preventative cool-down rest period required by this section may be provided |
4 | concurrently with any other meal or rest period required by state law if the timing of the |
5 | preventative cool-down rest period coincides with a required meal or rest period. Except when such |
6 | a rest period coincides with the existing unpaid meal break, the preventative cool-down rest period |
7 | is a work assignment and shall be compensated accordingly. |
8 | (3) When the temperature equals or exceeds one hundred degrees (100°) Fahrenheit, the |
9 | employer shall ensure that the employee takes a minimum ten (10) minute net preventative cool- |
10 | down rest period every hour. The preventative cool-down rest period required by this section may |
11 | be provided concurrently with any other meal or rest period required by state law if the timing of |
12 | the preventative cool-down rest period coincides with a required meal or rest period. Except when |
13 | such a rest period coincides with the existing unpaid meal break, the preventative cool-down rest |
14 | period is a work assignment and shall be compensated accordingly. |
15 | (j) Communication. |
16 | (1) Ensuring that effective communication by voice, observation, or electronic means is |
17 | maintained in order that employees at the work site can contact a supervisor when necessary. An |
18 | electronic device, such as a cell phone or text messaging device, may be used for this purpose only |
19 | if reception in the area is reliable. |
20 | (2) Observing employees for alertness and signs or symptoms of heat illness. The employer |
21 | shall ensure effective employee observation/monitoring by implementing one or more of the |
22 | following: Supervisor or designee observation of twenty (20) or fewer employees, or mandatory |
23 | buddy system, or regular communication with sole employee such as by radio or cellular phone, or |
24 | other equally effective means. |
25 | (k) Emergency response procedures. |
26 | (1) Employers shall implement effective emergency response procedures for when a |
27 | worker experiences any stage of heat related illness, including communication protocols and clear |
28 | and precise directions to work locations for transient, field and solo workers. |
29 | (2) Employers shall identify and communicate the appropriate onsite emergency contact |
30 | for workers and supervisors and ways to communicate with offsite supervisors and emergency |
31 | medical personnel. |
32 | (3) If a supervisor observes, or any employee reports, any signs or symptoms of heat illness |
33 | in an employee, the supervisor shall take immediate action commensurate with the severity of the |
34 | illness. |
| LC004966 - Page 7 of 13 |
1 | (4) Employers shall contact emergency medical services and, if necessary, transport |
2 | employees to a place where they can be reached by an emergency medical provider. |
3 | (5) Workers who need first aid onsite and emergency response/removal from work due to |
4 | heat-related illness shall be considered on-duty with full compensation. |
5 | 28-5.2-5. Temperature protection standards -- Cold-stress specific standards. |
6 | (a) The employer shall fulfill the following requirements when employees are in an outdoor |
7 | or indoor worksite and experiencing conditions at or exceeding the cold threshold of sixty degrees |
8 | (60°) Fahrenheit or below. |
9 | (1) The employer shall develop a written program to mitigate cold-related illnesses and |
10 | injuries experienced by employees. |
11 | ( 2 ) The written program shall identify and incorporate work processes and external factors |
12 | that increase the likelihood of cold-related illness, Worker training on cold-related illness |
13 | prevention, recognition, and reporting, ensured access to warm liquids, warm areas for use during |
14 | break periods, and wind-protective clothing based on wind speed, and prompt medical attention to |
15 | workers who show signs of cold-related illness or injury, schedules designed to reduce the time |
16 | workers spend in the cold environment and reduce the physical demands during cold exposure, and |
17 | medical monitoring to ensure worker health and protection. |
18 | (3) Every employer shall provide and display a thermometer for employee use at all |
19 | workplaces to monitor the temperature indoors, outdoors and in vehicles. |
20 | (4) Employers shall identify and implement engineering controls, and administrative |
21 | controls before relying on personal protective equipment. |
22 | (5) The written program shall include information on education and training. The written |
23 | program shall include emergency response plans, procedures and relevant worksite contacts in case |
24 | of an emergency. The written program shall be updated at least annually, when major work |
25 | conditions change, and when a cold-related incident occurs. |
26 | (b) Access to hydration. The employer shall provide access to drinking water located as |
27 | close as practical to where employees are working. If drinking water is not plumbed or otherwise |
28 | continuously supplied, it shall be provided in sufficient quantity at the beginning of the shift, a |
29 | minimum of one quart of drinking water per hour per employee. Warm beverages shall be provided |
30 | for every employee accessible in warm-up areas. Frequent drinking of water and warm beverages |
31 | shall be encouraged. |
32 | (c) Rest. The employer shall require and encourage preventative breaks at the duration of |
33 | not less than ten (10) minutes, in addition to the time needed to access the warm-up area, in a warm |
34 | area as needed for outdoor work or a warm breakroom for indoor workers. |
| LC004966 - Page 8 of 13 |
1 | (1) Employees who take a preventative warm-up rest shall be monitored and asked about |
2 | symptoms of cold stress. |
3 | (2) Employees shall be encouraged to remain in the warm-up area and not be ordered back |
4 | to work until any signs or symptoms of cold stress have been abated. |
5 | (3) The preventative warm-up rest period required by this section may be provided |
6 | concurrently with any other meal or rest period required by policy, rule or law if the timing of the |
7 | preventative warm-up rest period coincides with the otherwise required meal or rest period. Except |
8 | when such a rest period coincides with the existing unpaid meal break, the preventative warm-up |
9 | rest period is a work assignment and shall be compensated accordingly. |
10 | (d) Medical monitoring. Employers shall closely monitor temperatures and implement their |
11 | workplace cold stress plan when temperatures are below sixty degrees (60°) Fahrenheit. If an |
12 | employee exhibits signs or reports symptoms of cold stress, the employer shall immediately provide |
13 | appropriate first aid or emergency response. |
14 | (e) Access to warmth. |
15 | (1) A warm location for breaks shall be made available when the temperature is below sixty |
16 | degrees (60°) Fahrenheit. When the outdoor temperature in the work area is below sixty degrees |
17 | (60°) Fahrenheit, the employer shall have and maintain one or more areas with adequate warmth at |
18 | all times while employees are present. The size of the warm location shall be at least enough to |
19 | accommodate the number of employees on recovery or rest periods, with at least four square feet |
20 | (4ft2)available per resting employee. The rest location shall be located as close as practicable to the |
21 | areas where employees are working. |
22 | (2) When the outdoor temperature in the work area is not below sixty degrees (60°) |
23 | Fahrenheit, employers shall provide warmth pursuant to this section or provide timely access upon |
24 | an employee's request. Employees shall be allowed and encouraged to take a preventative warm- |
25 | up rest break when they feel the need to do so to protect themselves from cold stress. |
26 | (f) Personal protective equipment. Employers shall provide the necessary protective |
27 | equipment at no cost to the employee and take into account risk factors for worker heat load due to |
28 | wearing PPE, even in cold conditions. |
29 | (g) Vehicle standards. Employees who spend more than sixty (60) minutes in vehicles each |
30 | day or whose worksite is considered a vehicle shall have adequate heating available inside the |
31 | vehicle maintained according to the manufacturer's instructions to keep temperatures above sixty |
32 | degrees (60°) Fahrenheit. |
33 | (h) Cold wave procedures. |
34 | (1) The employer shall ensure that the employee takes a minimum ten (10) minute net |
| LC004966 - Page 9 of 13 |
1 | preventative warm-up rest period every two (2) hours. The preventative warm-up rest period |
2 | required by this section may be provided concurrently with any other meal or rest period required |
3 | by state law if the timing of the preventative warm-up rest period coincides with a required meal |
4 | or rest period. Except when such a rest period coincides with the existing unpaid meal break, the |
5 | preventative warm-up rest period is a work assignment and shall be compensated accordingly. |
6 | (2) The employer shall ensure that if an employee's skin, clothing or PPE gets wet, they are |
7 | immediately removed from the work area and taken to a warm-up area to have the wet clothing or |
8 | PPE removed and are not to return to work until dry or the wet items have been replaced. |
9 | (3) The employer shall provide appropriate PPE to ensure ears, face, hands and feet are |
10 | protected in cold waves. |
11 | 28-5.2-6. Communication. |
12 | (a) The employer shall be responsible for: |
13 | (1) Ensuring that effective communication by voice, observation, or electronic means is |
14 | maintained in order that employees at the work site can contact a supervisor when necessary. An |
15 | electronic device, such as a cell phone or text messaging device, may be used for this purpose only |
16 | if reception in the area is reliable; and |
17 | (2) Observing employees for alertness and signs or symptoms of cold illness. The employer |
18 | shall ensure effective employee observation/monitoring by implementing one or more of the |
19 | following: |
20 | (i) Supervisor or designee observation of twenty (20) or fewer employees; or |
21 | (ii) Mandatory buddy system; or |
22 | (iii) Regular communication with sole employee such as by radio or cellular phone, or other |
23 | equally effective means. |
24 | 28-5.2-7. Emergency response procedures. |
25 | (a) Employers shall implement effective emergency response procedures for when a |
26 | worker experiences any stage of cold related illness, including communication protocols and clear |
27 | and precise directions to work locations for transient, field, and solo workers. |
28 | (b) Employers shall identify and communicate the appropriate onsite emergency contact |
29 | for workers and supervisors and ways to communicate with offsite supervisors and emergency |
30 | medical personnel. |
31 | (c) If a supervisor observes, or any employee reports, any signs or symptoms of cold illness |
32 | in an employee, the supervisor shall take immediate action commensurate with the severity of the |
33 | illness. |
34 | (d) Employers shall contact emergency medical services and, if necessary, transport |
| LC004966 - Page 10 of 13 |
1 | employees to a place where they can be reached by an emergency medical provider. |
2 | (e) Workers who need first aid onsite and emergency response/removal from work due to |
3 | cold-related illness shall be considered on-duty with full compensation. |
4 | 28-5.2-8. Education and training. |
5 | (a) The employer shall provide a free, effective training program to employees during |
6 | working hours that includes at a minimum: |
7 | (1) The risk factors, signs and symptoms of cold stress and heat illness and the necessary |
8 | medical responses; |
9 | (2) Indoor and outdoor temperature stress thresholds; |
10 | (3) The employer's procedures to monitor temperature and humidity conditions and how |
11 | workers can participate in the monitoring process, and procedures and appropriate contact for when |
12 | conditions change; |
13 | (4) The appropriate engineering and administrative control measures instituted to address |
14 | temperature and humidity according to the standard, including the importance of rest breaks; |
15 | (5) The purpose, importance, and methods of acclimatization pursuant to the employer's |
16 | procedures; |
17 | (6) Examples of personal protective equipment such as hats, gloves, winter coats, cooling |
18 | rags, ice vests, and sunscreen; |
19 | (7) The importance and description of the additional physiological burden caused by |
20 | personal protective equipment and how the employer will factor this additional burden into worker |
21 | heat load, and methods for properly donning and doffing PPE; |
22 | (8) Medical monitoring provisions and employee access to records; |
23 | (9) Emergency response procedures including communication procedures and appropriate |
24 | contacts for workers and supervisors during each step of the response; |
25 | (10) The procedures and importance of workers and supervisors reporting acute and |
26 | delayed onset symptoms, illness to employers; and |
27 | (11) That this reporting is free from retaliation. |
28 | (b) The training set forth in this section shall be administered by the employer at the time |
29 | of hiring and no less than annually for employees and supervisors. Training material that is |
30 | appropriate in content and vocabulary to the educational level, literacy, and language of employees |
31 | shall be used. The training shall provide an opportunity for interactive questions and answers with |
32 | a person who is knowledgeable in the subject matter as it relates to the workplace that the training |
33 | addresses and who is also knowledgeable in the employer's procedures. |
34 | (c) Refresher training and retraining should be provided as needed. To increase |
| LC004966 - Page 11 of 13 |
1 | effectiveness, repeat training as needed and hold short tailgate meetings before each workday. |
2 | Circumstances where retraining is required include, but are not limited to, situations where: |
3 | (1) In advance of when the hot or cold season occurs or is anticipated to occur; and |
4 | (2) When there is a heat or cold wave. |
5 | (d) Copies of the employer's written program shall be made available to employees, |
6 | government officials and employee representatives within one business day upon request at no cost. |
7 | 28-5.2-9. Recordkeeping. |
8 | (a) Every employer shall collect and maintain data and records as required on all |
9 | temperature-related illnesses and fatalities which occur at an outdoor or indoor worksite. |
10 | (b) Employers shall additionally make such reports available to any employee, government |
11 | office, or employee representative within one business day upon request at no cost. |
12 | (c) Every employer shall be subject to fines for not adhering to the mandatory |
13 | recordkeeping and written program protocols. |
14 | 28-5.2-10. Anti-retaliation. |
15 | (a) Employers shall develop a clear system and appropriate points of contact for workers |
16 | to report hazardous working conditions and heat- and cold-related injury and illness. |
17 | (b) Employers shall be considered in violation of this section where any employee is |
18 | retaliated or discriminated against for raising concerns and reporting incidents, illness and injury. |
19 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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LC004966 | |
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| LC004966 - Page 12 of 13 |
EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EXTREME TEMPERATURE | |
WORKER PROTECTION ACT | |
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1 | This act would direct employers to take certain actions to protect their employees who are |
2 | exposed to extreme hot and cold temperatures. |
3 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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LC004966 | |
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| LC004966 - Page 13 of 13 |