Indoor Heat Standard Delayed By Administration

By Stephen Knight

Thursday, March 21st was a complicated and historic day for occupational safety in California. New Indoor Workplace Heat Illness Prevention rules were set for approval by the Standards Board, but the Department of Finance intervened in an extraordinary last minute maneuver to withdraw its approval, taking the item off the agenda. Many workers and advocates showed up in protest, offering extensive and pointed testimony, playing drums and holding up signs and even briefly stopping the meeting.

The Board appeared to be equally frustrated by the move, voting unanimously to approve the standard. It remains unclear whether this vote was effective or merely symbolic; advocates and watchdogs are examining the legality of the situation.

This matter is getting national coverage in the LA Times, CalMatters, KQED, NPR and elsewhere. Statements were issued by SEIU and the Labor Fed:

“It’s outrageous that after years of advocacy, on the eve of the vote to finally pass this overdue heat standard, we learned that it was pulled from the agenda with no prior notice or explanation,” said Lorena Gonzalez, head of the California Labor Federation, in a Thursday news release. “It’s shameful that the state of California is turning a blind eye to preventable workplace injuries and deaths.”

At the May Standards Board meeting last year, workers gave powerful testimony regarding the unbearable conditions they face as the temperatures rise, and their employers refusal to offer them even the most basic concessions or protections until they are forced by law. But this standard isn’t a year old–it’s ten years in the making. And it’s already too late for workers like Esteban Chavez Jr., who lost his life at age 24 to UPS’s refusal to invest in air conditioning for its fleet of delivery vehicles.

How quickly we can get the standard back on track remains to be seen.