An Act Relating to Heat Illness Prevention
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1461
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: HARNETT, COLLINGS, MORALES, OSHER, SYLVESTER, TALBOT ROSS, CARNEY
Amends: 26 MRSA §42-D

Legislative Document
No. 1461
H.P. 1077
House of Representatives, April 12, 2021
An Act Relating to Heat Illness Prevention
Received by the Clerk of the House on April 8, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on Labor 
and Housing pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative HARNETT of Gardiner.
Cosponsored by Representatives: COLLINGS of Portland, MORALES of South Portland, 
OSHER of Orono, SYLVESTER of Portland, TALBOT ROSS of Portland, Senator: CARNEY 
of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  26 MRSA §42-D is enacted to read:
§42-D.  Heat illness prevention
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Acclimatization" means temporary adaptation of an individual to work in the heat 
that occurs when an individual is gradually exposed to heat over a 2-week period at a 
20% increase in heat exposure time per day.
B.  "Cooling area" means an area that provides shade from direct sunlight, ventilation 
or cooling and that allows an employee to lower the employee's body temperature.  A 
cooling area may consist of natural or artificial structures but may not expose an 
employee to unsafe or unhealthy conditions or deter or discourage access or use.
C.  "Drinking water" means cool or cold potable water, including electrolyte-
replenishing beverages that do not contain caffeine.
D.  "Employee" has the same meaning as in section 591, subsection 1.
E.  "Employer" has the same meaning as in section 591, subsection 2.
F.  "Environmental risk factors for heat illness" means working conditions that create 
the possibility of heat illness, including air temperature, relative humidity, radiant and 
conductive heat from the sun, ground and other sources, ventilation, air movement, 
workload severity and duration and protective clothing and equipment worn by an 
employee.
G.  "Heat illness" means a medical condition resulting from an individual's inability to 
cope with a particular heat level, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat syncope 
and heat stroke.
H.  "Heat illness prevention training" means the training developed by the Department 
of Labor in accordance with subsection 2.
I.  "High-heat environment" means a location where work is conducted outside or in 
an enclosed environment such as a shed, tent, warehouse or greenhouse without 
temperature controls, such as air conditioning systems.
J.  "Personal risk factors for heat illness" means factors specific to an individual, 
including the individual's age, health conditions, degree of acclimatization, 
consumption of water, alcohol or caffeine, use of prescription medications and other 
physiological responses to heat.
K.  "Recovery period" means a time period intended to reduce an employee's heat 
exposure and help the employee cool down and avoid the signs or symptoms of heat 
illness.
L.  "Supervisor" means an employee responsible for monitoring or overseeing the work 
or activity of another employee.
M.  "Temperature" means the dry bulb temperature in degrees Fahrenheit obtainable 
by using a thermometer in direct sunlight or in the area where an employee is working.
2. Heat illness prevention training.  The Department of Labor shall, in accordance 
with section 42-A, design a heat illness prevention training that is a safety education and 
training program for employers, supervisors and employees concerning heat illness 
prevention, including environmental risk factors for heat illness, signs and symptoms and 
effective prevention methods.  
A. The heat illness prevention training must cover at least the following topics:
(1)  The environmental risk factors for heat illness;
(2)  General awareness of personal risk factors for heat illness;
(3)  The importance of frequently consuming drinking water;
(4)  The importance and methods of acclimatization;
(5)  The common signs and symptoms of heat illness, including neurological 
impairment, confusion or agitation;
(6)  Preventive and first aid measures, such as loosening clothing or heat-retaining 
equipment, accessing a cooling area and applying cool or cold water to the body; 
and
(7)  The importance of immediately reporting to an employer, directly or through 
a supervisor, signs or symptoms of heat illness in an employee and the importance 
of immediately providing or receiving medical attention if an employee exhibits 
any signs or symptoms of heat illness.
B.  The Department of Labor shall develop the heat illness prevention training by 
December 31, 2021 and make the heat illness prevention training and any related 
materials available on the department's publicly accessible website.
3.  Employer responsibilities.   This section applies to an employer that requires an 
employee to perform work, including agriculture, construction, manufacturing and 
landscaping, in a high-heat environment for more than 15 minutes per hour for every hour 
of the employee's work day.  
A.  An employer shall annually provide heat illness prevention training developed in 
accordance with this section to any employee who works in a high-heat environment 
and any supervisor responsible for such an employee.  An employer shall make the 
training and all relevant materials available to an employee or supervisor upon request.
(1) An employer shall provide heat illness prevention training to a new employee 
not present at the last annual heat illness prevention training before the employee 
begins work in a high-heat environment.
(2)  Before a supervisor may supervise an employee in a high-heat environment, 
the supervisor's employer shall provide the supervisor with heat illness prevention 
training and the following information:
(a)  The employer's heat illness prevention measures and relevant procedures 
under paragraph B;
(b)  Procedures that must be followed when an employee exhibits or reports 
any signs or symptoms of heat illness; and
(c)  Procedures that must be followed when seeking medical attention for an 
employee who exhibits or reports any signs or symptoms of heat illness or 
when administering first aid to the employee.
B.  An employer with an employee working in a high-heat environment shall 
implement the following heat illness prevention measures.
(1)  An employer shall ensure that drinking water is at all times readily accessible 
to an employee while the employee is working in a high-heat environment.  An 
employer shall locate drinking water as close as practicable to the area where an 
employee is working and provide the drinking water to the employee without 
charge.  If drinking water is not continuously supplied, the employer shall ensure 
that each employee working in a high-heat environment is provided with at least 
one quart of drinking water per hour for every hour in the employee's work day.
(2)  If an employee exhibits mild to moderate signs or symptoms of heat illness, an 
employer or supervisor shall remove the employee from the high-heat 
environment, provide the employee with drinking water, place the employee in a 
cooling area for at least 15 minutes and monitor the employee to determine whether 
medical attention is necessary.  If the employee's signs or symptoms of heat illness 
do not abate within 15 minutes, an employer or supervisor shall seek medical 
attention in a timely manner.  If an employee exhibits serious signs or symptoms 
of heat illness, an employer or supervisor shall seek medical attention for the 
employee immediately and administer first aid as necessary. 
(3)  When the temperature is 80 degrees or greater, an employer shall, at all times 
while an employee is working in a high-heat environment, maintain one or more 
cooling areas sufficient to enable employees to participate in recovery periods.
(4)  When the temperature is 90 degrees or greater, an employer shall implement 
the following heat illness prevention procedures, to the extent practicable:
(a)  Ensure that an employee working in a high-heat environment may easily 
communicate by voice, gesture or electronic means with an employer or 
supervisor so that the employee may easily report signs or symptoms of heat 
illness or request emergency medical services;
(b)  Regularly remind an employee working in a high-heat environment to 
consume drinking water;
(c)  Ensure that an employee takes at least one 10-minute recovery period every 
hours while working in a high-heat environment, which may be concurrent 
with rest breaks required under section 601; and
(d)  Before an employee begins working in a high-heat environment, review 
the employer's heat illness prevention procedures with the employee.
C.  Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, an employee is responsible for 
monitoring the employee's own personal risk factors for heat illness.
4.  Rulemaking.  The Department of Labor shall adopt rules to implement this section, 
including a certification process to acknowledge an employer's compliance with heat illness 
prevention training requirements.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine 
technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
SUMMARY
This bill:
1.  Requires the Department of Labor to develop a safety and education training 
program for employers, supervisors and employees addressing heat illness prevention and 
requires the department to make the training available on the department's publicly 
accessible website by December 31, 2021;
2.  Requires the department to adopt rules for the implementation of the heat illness 
prevention training program;
3.  Requires an employer who requires an employee to work in a high-heat environment 
for more than 15 minutes for every hour of the employee's work day to provide annual heat 
illness prevention training to the employer's employees and supervisors, to make the 
training and all relevant materials available to an employee or supervisor upon request and 
to provide the training to any new employee working in a high-heat environment and to a 
supervisor before the supervisor may supervise an employee working in a high-heat 
environment; and
4. Requires an employer to take the following heat illness prevention measures:
A. Provide readily accessible drinking water to an employee working in a high-heat 
environment;
B. Remove an employee exhibiting mild to moderate signs or symptoms of heat illness 
to a cooling area for 15 minutes and, if the signs or symptoms do not abate, seek 
medical attention or administer first aid;
C. If the temperature is 80 degrees Fahrenheit or greater, maintain one or more cooling 
areas sufficient to enable employees to participate in recovery periods; and
D. If the temperature is 90 degrees or greater, ensure that an employee working in a 
high-heat environment is able to easily communicate by voice, gesture or electronic 
means with an employer or supervisor so that the employee may report signs or 
symptoms of heat illness or request emergency medical services, regularly remind the 
employee to consume drinking water, ensure the employee takes one 10-minute break 
for every 2 hours spent working in a high-heat environment and review these measures 
with the employee before the employee begins working in a high-heat environment.