OSHA initiative on heat illness should be viewed as more than just a suggestion

OSHA sometimes undertakes educational initiatives, such as one issued last month about the hazards of working outdoors in the heat. But employers would be unwise to ignore the suggestions as “optional” for two important reasons.

The first, of course, is that heat-related illnesses can be life-threatening. OSHA says in educational materials on its website that thousands of outdoor workers are affected each year with conditions ranging from mild heat exhaustion to heat stroke, which can be extremely dangerous. OSHA’s materials offer suggestions on how to prevent those problems.

The second reason, as Rod Smith of the Sherman and Howard law firm pointed out in a recent article, is that “OSHA enforcement may be just around the corner.”

OSHA has in the past used its general duty clause to penalize employers where workers suffered from heat-related illnesses in indoor environments such as glass plants. But the general duty clause could just as easily be used for enforcement outdoors.

To use the general duty clause, OSHA must show that the hazard involved was a “recognized” one and that there were feasible means to avoid the hazard.

As Rod Smith points out, “the very information that OSHA is distributing as part of its current heat illness initiative could be used in later cases to show that employers, or their respective industries, recognize the hazards of working outdoors in high temperatures and the existence of feasible means to avoid such hazards, including the implementation of programs to provide adequate water, shade, and rest.”

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