California pushes through mandates for protecting indoor workers from excessive heat

California has rushed through new requirements that foodservice operators, restaurateurs and other employers provide indoor workers with water, rest breaks and cool-down areas whenever the temperature in the job site hits 82 degrees.

Additional steps are suggested but not mandated if the temperature should climb to 87 degrees. Those additional steps include cooling down the work area, drafting schedules with cool-down breaks included and providing heat-protective equipment or clothing. Employers are excused if those actions are unfeasible, according to the California Department of Industrial Relations.

The new regulations take effect immediately, contrary to the norm for workplace regulations, which usually provide time for employers to comply. The new rules were approved this week by the state’s Office of Administrative Law as temperatures hit 90 degrees in some areas of the state. Thermometer readings remained in the triple digits Wednesday in jurisdictions like Palm Springs.

The state had proposed the safety standards months ago. The requirements mirror the steps other states have recommended or mandated, as well as the safeguards the Biden administration proposed several weeks ago to protect workers in what has been the hottest summer in recorded history. Monday set an all-time record on a global basis.

“This regulation provides protections for workers across California and helps prepare employers to deal with the challenges of rising temperatures in indoor environments,” Debra Lee, head of the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said in a statement. “My team has prepared resources so that employers can quickly comply with the new requirements and ensure their employees’ safety.”

The announcement of the rule did not specify what those resources are.

Only jails and correctional facilities are exempted from the new requirements.

This story originally appeared in sister publication Restaurant Business.