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It's cold and snowy in much of the U.S. right now, but hard as it may be to believe in some parts of the country, heat season will eventually come again, and hotter summers are increasingly a risk for American workers. This year, the federal government is considering new rules to protect employees from excessive heat. A new study looks at what matters most for keeping workers safe. NPR's Alejandra Borunda reports.
ALEJANDRA BORUNDA, BYLINE: People have known forever that hot weather can be dangerous for workers. Even ancient Egyptians worried about dehydration for people building the pyramids. And the problem is just as critical for people working outside now. And it's not just heatstroke that's a risk.
ADAM DEAN: Heat makes people slower to react and worse at making decisions.
BORUNDA: Adam Dean is a political scientist who researches labor conditions at George Washington University.
DEAN: And that means that farm workers driving a tractor or a construction worker operating equipment is more likely to have a fatal accident on a hot day.
BORUNDA: Dean is the lead author of a new analysis in the journal Health Affairs. It looked at workplace deaths related to heat in California, which was the first state to pass protections for people who work outdoors. The researchers compared deaths in California with states nearby that didn't have those rules. The study found California's rules likely saved dozens of lives every year, even as climate change has made those heat risks more intense. But Dean says fine-tuning the rule took some trial and error.
DEAN: When California first adopted a heat standard in 2005, it was ineffective.
BORUNDA: Dean says the original guidelines weren't specific enough. They said employers, like farmers, for example, had to offer their workers water, shade and rest when it's hot. But when inspectors showed up, they sometimes found problems, like undrinkable water. So the state clarified. Water had to be drinkable and free, not just there, and there needed to be enough shade for all workers during breaks. The state also ramped up their inspections and launched an intensive campaign to educate workers about their rights. Dean says all those changes made a real difference.
DEAN: I think a critical lesson is that merely passing a heat standard is not enough. And it was only after the state launched a statewide enforcement campaign that we started to see deaths decrease relative to surrounding states.
BORUNDA: The new study was published as the federal government is currently considering new heat rules that would apply nationally. Worker advocates want it to mimic California's more specific rules, while many employer groups prefer a more flexible standard. The new study joins several other analyses published this year that found standards, especially strict ones, can protect workers. Barrak Alahmad is an occupational health researcher at Harvard University. He says all the studies use different datasets and methods.
BARRAK ALAHMAD: And in science, you like to see that. You like to see this consistency and these additional layers of evidence.
BORUNDA: The future of the federal heat rules is uncertain. They were first proposed under President Biden's administration, and the Trump administration is now reviewing them. In the meantime, several states and cities have adopted their own rules in recent years, and others, like New Mexico and Arizona, are currently considering them.
Alejandra Borunda, NPR News.
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