PHOENIX — Arizona workers may soon get new heat protections on the job, but critics say they won’t mean much without the force of law.
A state advisory committee voted Tuesday to recommend proposed guidelines from the state’s Workplace Heat Safety Task Force. The guidelines aim to provide workers with access to cool water, shade, and rest. Employers would also put in place heat-illness prevention plans.
A separate group called the Arizona Heat Standards Coalition has been pushing for enforceable rules. Tuesday’s vote left them frustrated.
“I’m disappointed in the decision today. There was a big opportunity to move forward to have real, honest protections for workers today,” said Jazmin Moreno Dominguez, whose father is a construction worker who has worked in Arizona for nearly 30 years.
The meeting grew emotional at times, with workers and safety advocates at one point standing up and chanting, “Enforceable Heat Standards Now” over and over. They carried signs that read “Lives on the Line, No More Delays.”
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The recommendations approved Tuesday by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH) Advisory Committee are not yet final. The Industrial Commission of Arizona, the state agency that oversees worker safety, is expected to hold a public hearing in April and will make the final decision. Commissioners could still decide to pursue mandatory rules, which would be a lengthy process.
Amber Pappas, ADOSH Advisory Committee co-chair, said the task force spent several months developing the recommendations.
“This is a process,” she said, adding that some other states that have rushed through heat standards wound up with rules or laws that are difficult to enforce.
“We do not take this lightly,” she said.
The recommended guidelines include water, rest, and shade.
- Water: Water must be cool and easily accessible so workers can hydrate regularly, and provided at no cost. Water must be free from dirt or contamination and stored in coolers or containers that are cleaned regularly.
- Shade: Shade that blocks direct sunlight should be provided as close as possible to where employees are working outside.
- Rest breaks: Rest should occur in shaded areas and be allowed, without penalty, when employees feel the need to do so to prevent overheating. New workers or those unaccustomed to the heat may require longer or more frequent breaks.
Right now, Arizona has no detailed, state-wide workplace heat rules. Businesses can be cited for heat violations under what’s called the “general duty clause,” meaning workplaces have to be free from hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm. But this is a very broad description. Past efforts to try to change Arizona laws to add more heat protections have failed.
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