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US government ramps up effort to put in place 'too hot to work' rules

US investigators have carried out an unprecedented number of heat-related workplace inspections this summer, while federal and state governments are adopting measures to protect workers from heat

By James Dinneen

9 August 2022

Five construction workers wearing yellow and orange vests and wide-brimmed helmets repair a roof, while one worker in the middle spreads hot tar on the roof's surface. — Workers brave the oppressive heat in Jackson, Mississippi, on 13 June 2020 as they reroof the Barfield Complex
Rogelio V Solis/AP/Shutterstock

As intense heatwaves baked much of the US this summer, federal investigators made more than 700 heat-related inspections at workplaces – more than they carried out in the previous three years combined. The inspection upswing reflects a new emphasis on protecting workers from extreme temperatures as federal plans for a national heat-safety standard go forward in a race to beat the heat.

“There’s a growing understanding that extreme heat isn’t just a nuisance,” says , a…

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