I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3668 

To direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue an 

occupational safety and health standard to protect workers from heatrelated injuries and illnesses. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 10, 2019 

Ms. JUDY CHU of California (for herself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. ADAMS, 

Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. WILD, Ms. 

BONAMICI, Ms. OMAR, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. DESAULNIER, 

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. NORTON, Mr. COHEN, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. SABLAN, Mrs. 

NAPOLITANO, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, and Ms. MENG) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

to issue an occupational safety and health standard to 

protect workers from heat-related injuries and illnesses. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND FINDINGS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention 

6 Act of 2019’’. 

7 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Excessive heat exposure poses a direct 

2 threat to workers and the economy. Climate change 

3 increases this danger, as 18 of the 19 hottest years 

4 on record have occurred since 2001. Rising tempera5 tures are projected to cause an increase in heat-re6 lated workplace injuries and illnesses, a dramatic 

7 loss in labor capacity, and decreased productivity. 

8 (2) Heat-related illnesses can arise when high 

9 temperatures rise above the body’s capacity to dispel 

10 heat. Impacts range from comparatively minor prob11 lems such as heat cramps to severe afflictions such 

12 as organ damage, heat exhaustion, stroke, and 

13 death. 

14 (3) Farmworkers and construction workers suf15 fer the highest incidence of heat illness, but all out16 door and indoor workers employed in excessively hot 

17 and humid environments are at significant risk of 

18 material impairment of health or functional capacity. 

19 (4) Asuncion Valdivia was a California farm20 worker who died of heat stroke in 2004 after picking 

21 grapes for 10 straight hours in 105 degree tempera22 tures. Instead of calling an ambulance, his employer 

23 told his son to drive Mr. Valdivia home. On his way 

24 home, he started foaming at the mouth and died. 


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1 (5) People working in excessive heat suffer di2 minished mental acuity and physical ability, which 

3 increases the risk of accidents. Heat-related injuries 

4 and illnesses increase workers’ compensation costs 

5 and medical expenses. 

6 (6) The costs of lower labor productivity under 

7 rising temperatures is estimated to reach up to 

8 $160,000,000,000 in lost wages per year in the 

9 United States by 2090 according to the 2018 Na10 tional Climate Assessment. The drop in productivity 

11 decreases income for employers and workers. Global 

12 gross domestic product losses from heat are pro13 jected to be greater than 20 percent by the end of 

14 this century. 

15 (7) Every year, thousands of workers become 

16 sick and some die from exposure to heat. Between 

17 1992 and 2017, 815 United States workers died 

18 from heat and almost 70,000 were seriously injured. 

19 These numbers are generally understood to be gross 

20 undercounts because many heat-related illnesses and 

21 deaths are blamed on natural causes. 

22 (8) Workers have a legal right to a safe work23 place. The vast majority of heat-related workplace 

24 deaths and illnesses can be prevented by access to 

25 water, rest, and shade. Many employers don’t proVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3668.IH H3668

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1 vide these simple measures for workers according to 

2 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 

3 (9) Employers often retaliate against employees 

4 if they report or seek assistance due to problems 

5 with heat. Many employees are therefore afraid to 

6 report problems and face increased risk of heat-re7 lated illnesses or death. 

8 (10) In the absence of a Federal standard, mul9 tiple branches of the United States Armed Forces— 

10 including the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air 

11 Force—have issued heat prevention guidelines, and 

12 several States—California, Washington, and Min13 nesota—have issued heat prevention standards. The 

14 National Institute for Occupational Safety and 

15 Health (NIOSH) issued criteria for such a standard 

16 in 1972, updating it in 1986 and 2016. 

17 (11) Congress created the Occupational Safety 

18 and Health Administration to ensure safe and 

19 healthful working conditions by setting and enforc20 ing standards pursuant to section 6 of the Occupa21 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970. Employees 

22 are exposed to grave danger from exposure to exces23 sive heat. The Occupational Safety and Health Ad24 ministration must develop a standard to protect 


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1 workers from the significant risks of heat-related ill2 ness and death. 

3 SEC. 2. OSHA SAFETY STANDARD FOR EXPOSURE TO HEAT 

4 AND HOT ENVIRONMENTS. 

5 (a) PROPOSED STANDARD.—Not later than 2 years 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

7 Labor shall, pursuant to section 6(b) of the Occupational 

8 Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 655), promulgate a pro9 posed standard on prevention of occupational exposure to 

10 excessive heat. 

11 (b) FINAL STANDARD.—Not later than 42 months 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

13 promulgate a final standard on prevention of occupational 

14 exposure to excessive heat that shall— 

15 (1) provide no less protection than the most 

16 protective heat prevention standard adopted by a 

17 State plan that has been approved by the Secretary 

18 under section 18 of the Occupational Safety and 

19 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 667) and, at a min20 imum, include the requirements described in section 

21 4; and 

22 (2) be effective and enforceable in the same 

23 manner and to the same extent as any standard pro24 mulgated under section 6(b) of the Occupational 

25 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)). 


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1 (c) INTERIM FINAL STANDARD.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the proposed standard de3 scribed in subsection (a) is not promulgated not 

4 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 

5 this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall promulgate an 

6 interim final standard on prevention of occupational 

7 exposure to excessive heat not later than 2 years and 

8 60 days after such date of enactment— 

9 (A) to require covered employers to develop 

10 and implement a comprehensive workplace ex11 cessive heat prevention plan to protect covered 

12 employees from excessive heat that may lead to 

13 heat-related injuries and illnesses; and 

14 (B) that shall, at a minimum— 

15 (i) provide no less protection than the 

16 most protective heat prevention standard 

17 adopted by a State plan that has been ap18 proved by the Secretary under section 18 

19 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

20 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 667); 

21 (ii) establish requirements with re22 spect to exposure limits that trigger action 

23 to protect covered employees from heat-re24 lated illness, hydration, scheduled and paid 

25 rest breaks in shaded or climate-controlled 


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1 spaces, an acclimatization plan, exposure 

2 monitoring, and other measures to prevent 

3 exposure to heat above safe limits, em4 ployee and supervisor training, hazard no5 tification, an emergency medical response 

6 plan, heat-related surveillance, record7 keeping, and procedures for compensating 

8 piece rate workers for required heat-related 

9 rest breaks; 

10 (iii) take into consideration the 

11 NIOSH Criteria for a Recommended 

12 Standard: Occupational Exposure to Heat 

13 and Hot Environments published by the 

14 National Institute for Occupational Safety 

15 and Health in 2016; and 

16 (iv) include a requirement to protect 

17 employees from discrimination or retalia18 tion for exercising the rights of the em19 ployees under the interim final standard. 

20 (2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER STATUTORY RE21 QUIREMENTS.—The following shall not apply to the 

22 promulgation of the interim final standard under 

23 this subsection: 

24 (A) The requirements applicable to occupa25 tional safety and health standards under section 


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1 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

2 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)). 

3 (B) The requirements of section 553(c) of 

4 chapter 5 and chapter 6 of title 5, United 

5 States Code, and chapter 55 of title 42, United 

6 States Code. 

7 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE OF INTERIM STAND8 ARD.—The interim final standard shall— 

9 (A) take effect on a date that is not later 

10 than 30 days after the promulgation of such 

11 standard, except that such interim final stand12 ard may include a reasonable phase-in period 

13 for the implementation of required engineering 

14 controls that take effect after such date; 

15 (B) be enforced in the same manner and 

16 to the same extent as any standard promul17 gated under section 6(b) of the Occupational 

18 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 

19 655(b)); and 

20 (C) be in effect until the final standard de21 scribed in subsection (b) becomes effective and 

22 enforceable. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘covered 

2 employee’’ includes an individual employed by a cov3 ered employer. 

4 (2) COVERED EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘covered 

5 employer’’— 

6 (A) means an employer that employs an 

7 individual to work at a covered workplace; and 

8 (B) includes a contractor, subcontractor, a 

9 temporary service firm, or an employee leasing 

10 entity. 

11 (3) COVERED WORKPLACE.—The term ‘‘covered 

12 workplace’’ includes a workplace with occupational 

13 exposure to excessive heat. 

14 (4) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ has the 

15 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Occupa16 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 

17 652). 

18 (5) EXCESSIVE HEAT.—The term ‘‘excessive 

19 heat’’ includes outdoor or indoor exposure to heat at 

20 levels that exceed the capacities of the body to main21 tain normal body functions and may cause heat-re22 lated injury, illness, or fatality (including heat 

23 stroke, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, heat cramps, 

24 or heat rashes). 


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1 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Labor. 

3 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR FINAL STANDARD ON PRE4 VENTION OF OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO 

5 EXCESSIVE HEAT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The final standard promulgated 

7 under section 2(b) shall, at a minimum— 

8 (1) take into consideration the NIOSH Criteria 

9 for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Expo10 sure to Heat and Hot Environments published by 

11 the National Institute for Occupational Safety and 

12 Health in 2016; 

13 (2) establish requirements with respect to expo14 sure limits that trigger action to protect covered em15 ployees from heat-related illness, hydration, sched16 uled and paid rest breaks in shaded or climate-con17 trolled spaces, an acclimatization plan, exposure 

18 monitoring, and other measures to prevent exposure 

19 to heat above safe limits, employee and supervisor 

20 training, hazard notification, medical monitoring, an 

21 emergency medical response plan, heat-related sur22 veillance recordkeeping, procedures for compensating 

23 piece rate workers for required heat-related rest 

24 breaks, and a heat prevention plan; and 


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1 (3) include the requirements described in sub2 section (b). 

3 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The final standard promul4 gated under section 2(b) shall include the following: 

5 (1) HEAT ILLNESS PREVENTION PLANS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—A covered employer 

7 shall develop, implement, and maintain an ef8 fective, written excessive heat illness prevention 

9 plan for covered employees, which shall— 

10 (i) be developed and implemented with 

11 the meaningful participation of covered 

12 employees and, where applicable, employee 

13 representatives and collective bargaining 

14 representatives, for all aspects of the plan; 

15 (ii) be tailored and specific to hazards 

16 in the covered workplace; 

17 (iii) be in writing, in English and in 

18 the language understood by a majority of 

19 the employees, if such language is not 

20 English; and 

21 (iv) made available, upon request, to 

22 such employees, the employee representa23 tives for such employees, and the Sec24 retary. 


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1 (B) PLAN CONTENT.—Each plan shall in2 clude procedures and methods for the following: 

3 (i) Initial and regular monitoring of 

4 employee exposure to determine whether 

5 employees are exposed to excessive heat. 

6 (ii) Provision of water, paid rest 

7 breaks, and access to shade or cool-down 

8 areas. 

9 (iii) Emergency response. 

10 (iv) Acclimatization. 

11 (v) Hazard prevention, including engi12 neering controls, administrative controls, 

13 or personal protective equipment to cor14 rect, in a timely manner, applying indus15 trial hygiene principles of the hierarchy of 

16 controls, including, as appropriate— 

17 (I) engineering controls that may 

18 include isolation of hot processes, iso19 lation of employees from sources of 

20 heat, local exhaust ventilation, shield21 ing from a radiant heat source, and 

22 insulation of hot surfaces, the provi23 sion of air conditioning, cooling fans, 

24 cooling mist fans, evaporative coolers, 

25 and natural ventilation; 


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1 (II) administrative controls that 

2 limit exposure to a hazard by adjust3 ment of work procedures or work 

4 schedules, which may include accli5 matizing employees, rotating employ6 ees, scheduling work earlier or later in 

7 the day, using work-rest schedules, re8 ducing work intensity or speed, chang9 ing required work clothing, and using 

10 relief workers; and 

11 (III) personal protective equip12 ment which may include water-cooled 

13 garments, air-cooled garments, reflec14 tive clothing, and cooling vests. 

15 (vi) Coordination of risk assessment 

16 efforts, plan development, and implementa17 tion of the plan with other employers who 

18 have employees who work at the covered 

19 workplace. 

20 (vii) Compensating piece rate workers 

21 for required heat-related rest breaks. 

22 (2) TRAINING AND EDUCATION.— 

23 (A) EMPLOYEE TRAINING.—A covered em24 ployer shall provide annual training and edu25 cation to covered employees who may be exVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3668.IH H3668

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1 posed to high heat levels, which shall cover the 

2 following topics: 

3 (i) Identified heat illness risk factors. 

4 (ii) Personal factors that may increase 

5 susceptibility to heat-related illness. 

6 (iii) Signs and symptoms of heat-re7 lated illness. 

8 (iv) Different types of heat illness. 

9 (v) The importance of acclimatization 

10 and consumption of liquids. 

11 (vi) Engineering control measures. 

12 (vii) Administrative control measures. 

13 (viii) The importance of reporting 

14 heat-related symptoms being experienced 

15 by the employee or another employee. 

16 (ix) Recordkeeping requirements and 

17 reporting procedures. 

18 (x) Emergency response procedures. 

19 (xi) Employee rights. 

20 (B) SUPERVISOR TRAINING.—In addition 

21 to the training and education required in sub22 paragraph (A), training and education shall be 

23 provided to covered employees who are super24 visors that shall cover the following topics: 


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1 (i) The procedures a supervisor is re2 quired to follow under this Act. 

3 (ii) How to recognize high-risk situa4 tions, including how to monitor weather re5 ports and weather advisories, and not as6 signing an employee to situations that pre7 dictably compromise the safety of the em8 ployee. 

9 (iii) The procedures to follow when an 

10 employee exhibits signs or reports symp11 toms consistent with possible heat illness, 

12 including emergency response procedures. 

13 (C) GENERAL TRAINING REQUIRE14 MENTS.—The education and training provided 

15 under this paragraph to covered employees shall 

16 meet the following: 

17 (i) In the case of such an employee 

18 whose job circumstances have changed, 

19 within a reasonable timeframe after such 

20 change of job circumstances, education and 

21 training shall be provided that shall be— 

22 (I) in addition to the education 

23 and training provided under subpara24 graph (A) and, if applicable to such 

25 employee, subparagraph (B); and 


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1 (II) applicable to such change of 

2 job circumstances. 

3 (ii) Applicable education and training 

4 shall be provided for each new covered em5 ployee prior to the employee’s job assign6 ment. 

7 (iii) The education and training shall 

8 provide such employees opportunities to 

9 ask questions, give feedback, and request 

10 additional instruction, clarification, or 

11 other follow-up. 

12 (iv) The education and training shall 

13 be provided in-person and by an individual 

14 with knowledge of heat illness prevention 

15 and of the plan of the employer under this 

16 section. 

17 (v) The education and training shall 

18 be appropriate in content and vocabulary 

19 to the language, educational level, and lit20 eracy of such covered employees. 

21 (3) RECORDKEEPING.—Each covered employer 

22 shall— 

23 (A) maintain at all times— 

24 (i) records related to each plan of the 

25 employer, including heat illness risk and 


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1 hazard assessments, and identification, 

2 evaluation, correction, and training proce3 dures; 

4 (ii) data on all heat-related illnesses 

5 and deaths; and 

6 (iii) data on environmental and phys7 iological measurements related to heat; and 

8 (B) make such records and data available, 

9 upon request, to covered employees and their 

10 representatives for examination and copying in 

11 accordance with section 1910.1020 of title 29, 

12 Code of Federal Regulations (as such section is 

13 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act). 

14 (4) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS.— 

15 (A) POLICY.—Each covered employer shall 

16 adopt a policy prohibiting any person (including 

17 an agent of the employer) from discriminating 

18 or retaliating against any employee for— 

19 (i) exercising the rights of the em20 ployee under this Act; or 

21 (ii) reporting violations of the stand22 ard to any local, State, or Federal govern23 ment. 


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1 (B) PROHIBITION.—No covered employer 

2 shall discriminate or retaliate against any em3 ployee for— 

4 (i) reporting a heat-illness-related con5 cern to, or seeking assistance or interven6 tion with respect to heat-related health 

7 symptoms from, the employer, local emer8 gency services, or a local, State, or Federal 

9 government; or 

10 (ii) exercising any other rights of the 

11 employee under this Act. 

12 (C) ENFORCEMENT.—This paragraph shall 

13 be enforced in the same manner and to the 

14 same extent as any standard promulgated 

15 under section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety 

16 and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 655(b)). 

Æ 


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