The Biden administration is pushing for new worker protections after record-setting temperatures across the country left dozens of workers injured and dead this summer.
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Monday that it will prioritize inspections on hot days, target high-risk industries nationally, and, as reported earlier this summer, begin developing a federal rule to protect workers from heat-related illnesses, a move long sought by worker advocates.
President Biden released a joint statement with OSHA, calling the initiative an “all-of-government effort to protect workers, children, seniors, and at-risk communities from extreme heat.”
An investigation last month by NPR and Columbia Journalism Investigations found a dramatic rise in preventable worker deaths from high temperatures, and that 384 workers died from environmental heat exposure in the U.S. over the last decade.
