Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes occupational heat stress standard and Occupational Heat-Related Illness and Injury Prevention Program in DOLWD.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the Department of Labor and Workforce Development establishing an occupational heat stress standard and heat-related illness and injury prevention program and supplementing Title 34 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares:
a. Heat is the leading weather-related killer, and it is becoming more dangerous as 18 of the last 19 years were the hottest years on record. Excessive heat can cause heat stroke and even death if not treated properly. It also exacerbates existing health problems like asthma, kidney failure, and heart disease. Workers in agriculture and construction are at highest risk, but the problem affects all workers exposed to heat, including indoor workers without climate-controlled environments.
b. Heat stress killed 815 United States workers and seriously injured more than 70,000 workers from 1992 through 2017, according to the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
c. To date, three states, California, Oregon, and Washington, have state occupational safety and health standards that cover outdoor heat exposure. Minnesota has a state standard that covers indoor heat exposure. The United States military has also issued heat protections.
d. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the United States Department of Labor has not adopted a heat stress standard.
e. In the absence of a heat stress adopted by OSHA, New Jersey may through legislation and regulation adopt a heat stress standard for the protection of employees against heat-related illness and injury that applies to employers and employees in this State both in private and public employment.
2. As used in this act:
Commissioner means the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development or the commissioners designee.
Department means the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Employ means to suffer or to permit to work.
Employee means any individual employed by an employer.
Employer means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, and the State and any county, municipality, or school district in the State, or any agency, authority, department, bureau, or instrumentality thereof acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee.
Excessive heat means levels of outdoor or indoor exposure to heat that exceed the capacities of the human body to maintain normal body functions and may cause heat-related injury or illness, including those that lead to death.
Heat-related illness means a medical condition resulting from the inability of the body to rid itself of excess heat, including heat rash, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, and heat stroke.
Heat stress means the net load to which a worker is exposed from the combined contributions of metabolic heat, environmental factors, and clothing worn which result in an increase in heat storage in the body, causing body temperature to rise to sometimes dangerous levels.
Occupation means any occupation, service, trade, business, industry or branch or group of industries or employment or class of employment in which employees are employed.
Occupational safety and health standard means a regulation or rule that requires the following: a condition that is reasonably appropriate or necessary to make employment and places of employment safe and healthful; or the adoption or use of a means, method, operation, practice, or process that is reasonably appropriate or necessary to make employment and places of employment safe and healthful.
Place of employment means a place in or about which an employee is allowed.
3. a. On or before June 1, 2024, the commissioner shall establish by rule a heat stress standard that contains the following:
(1) A standard that establishes heat stress levels for employers that, if exceeded, trigger actions by employers to protect employees from heat-related illness and injury.
(2) A requirement that each employer develop, implement, and maintain an effective heat-related illness and injury prevention plan for employees.
b. The heat-related illness and injury prevention plan referred to in subsection a. of this section shall, to the extent permitted by federal law, be developed and implemented with the meaningful participation of employees and employee representatives, including collective bargaining representatives; shall be tailored and specific to the hazards in the place of employment; shall be in writing in both English and in the language understood by a majority of the employers employees, if that language is not English; and shall be made available at a time and in a manner set forth by the commissioner in rule, to employees, employee representatives, including collective bargaining representatives, and to the commissioner.
c. The heat-related illness and injury prevention plan referred to in subsection a. of this section shall at a minimum contain procedures and methods for the following:
(1) initial and regular monitoring for employee exposure to heat to determine whether an employees exposure has been excessive;
(2) providing potable water with a temperature of less than 15 degrees Celsius or 59 degrees Fahrenheit;
(3) providing paid rest breaks and access to shade, cool-down areas or climate-controlled spaces;
(4) providing an emergency response for any employee who has suffered injury as a result of being exposed to excessive heat;
(5) acclimatizing employees to areas where exposure to heat is present;
(6) limiting the length of time an employee may be exposed to heat during the workday;
(7) for outdoor and indoor non-climate-controlled environments, implementation of a heat alert program to provide notification to employees when the National Weather Service forecasts that a heat wave is likely to occur in the following day or days, and when that notification occurs, also taking the following actions:
(a) postponing tasks that are not urgent until the heat wave is over;
(b) increasing the total number of workers to reduce the heat exposure of each worker;
(c) increasing rest allowances;
(d) reminding workers to drink liquids in small amounts frequently to prevent dehydration; and
(e) to the extent practicable, monitoring the environmental heat at job sites and resting places;
(8) preventing hazards, including through the use of:
(a) engineering controls that include the isolation of hot processes, the isolation of employees from sources of heat, local exhaust ventilation, shielding from a radiant heat source, the insulation of hot surfaces, air conditioning, cooling fans, evaporative coolers, and natural ventilation;
(b) administrative controls that limit exposure to a hazard by adjustment of work procedures or work schedules, including acclimatizing employees, rotating employees, scheduling work earlier or later in the day, using work-rest schedules, reducing work intensity or speed, changing required work clothing and using relief workers; and
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