b'How To Protect Employees Fromemployers have the opportunity to implement protective measures regardless of whether they have a legal obligation to do so, Dahl Heat and Other Climate Extremes said. Last months heat wave affecting large portions of the U.S.sFor example, Dahl said she has seen construction companies east, midwest and south regions illustrated in real-time thein states without heat standards that avoid roofing work dur-danger that climate extremes pose to workers.ing the hottest months of summer, while others set work schedules so employees dont have to work in the hottest At least two worker deaths were attributed to heat inhours of the day. June, CBS News reported, including an outdoor worker in Atlanta and a mail carrier in Dallas. Between 2011 and 2022,What the evidence suggests is that most heat illness or death is an average of 40 U.S. workers per year died from on-the-jobpreventable with sufficient water, shade and rest, Dahl said, cit-heat exposure, and heat remains the countrys leading cause ofing a 2021 report she co-authored during her tenure as a climate death among all hazardous weather conditions, per the Occu- scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists. The report found pational Safety and Health Administration.that measures such as adjusting work hours to cooler periods and modifying work that required moderate physical exertion to light Moreover, a changing global climate is expected to increasephysical exertion dramatically improved the amount of time and the frequency and intensity of certain extreme weather eventswages lost for outdoor workers, Dahl said. like heatwaves, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes recent landmark report summarizing theWhichever methods an employer adopts to prevent and address state of climate change knowledge.heat illness, it should develop a written planconsistent with guidance published by agencies like OSHAand ensure Despite the scientific consensus on the topic, employers mayemployees are trained on the plan so that they understand it, said fail to comprehend the link between climate change and ex- Kaiser Chowdhry, partner at Morgan Lewis. treme weather events, said Kristina Dahl, VP of science at the nonprofit Climate Central, in part because of the natural day- It can be difficult to formulate a one-size-fits all approach, he add-to-day variability in weather conditions.ed, given the differences in individual workplace needs. But at the end of the day, your obligation as an employer is to protect your An employer operating a farm for 20 years might say, sure,employees, Chowdhry said. He noted that employers might con-its hot today, but weve always had hot days in the summer,sider going above and beyond some best practices and recommen-and to some extent, thats true, Dahl said. But theyre be- dations on items such as how often employees can take breaks to coming more frequent and more severe. Its not always obvi- ensure they are protected as much as possible. ous what you can attribute to climate change and whats natu-rally happened.Employee perspectives are crucial Employers should allow workers to take the lead in health and Even so, many organizations are taking precautions to protectsafety planning, because workers know the job best and under-workers from heat and other environmental factors, she added.stand what works, Martinez said. She added that heat-related In a series of interviews, experts on workplace health, employ- illnesses should be thought of as systemic failures that require ment law and climate science told HR Dive how employerscollective, preventative action rather than individual incidents. may develop such plans. To that end, Martinez said employers should consider providing Theres more to beating heat than keeping coolaccess to spaces in which people can raise concerns and propose There is a long list of items for employers to consider when itpolicy changes, such as worker-led safety committees. Its on HR comes to environmental heat precautions. Jessica Martinez,teams, she noted, to normalize and reward reporting of things like executive director of the National Council for Occupationalheat-related hazards and illness symptoms. Safety and Health, a worker advocacy group, said in an email that, at a minimum, employers should guarantee:A workplace that discourages reporting is one where suffering is hidden, and thats not sustainable for anyone, Martinez said. Clean, potable drinking water Access to rest and shaded or cooled areasDahl similarly recommended involving worker groups directly in the planning process. She pointed to the case of the United Steel-Paid breaks at regular intervals with flexibility duringworkers union, which has advocated for the inclusion of protec-high heattions in contracts, including heat-absorbing shields, insulation of Clear protocols for identifying heat illness and heat stresshot surfaces and installment of ventilation systems to protect symptoms and encouragement of symptom reportingworkers from heat as well as airborne hazards. Modified work schedules during extreme heat periods, especially for new or returning workers Access to safety training in languages that workers speak A handful of states have adopted heat safety standards whose coverage of different worker segments varies, and regulators at OSHA continue to mull implementation of a federal heat standard initially proposed by the Biden administration. But(continued on page 19) 8'