On July 23, 2024, the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved California’s Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment regulation — which goes into effect immediately, according to the California Department of Industrial Relations’ (DIR) press release.
As previously reported, many of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA) indoor heat illness requirements mirror those of the outdoor heat illness regulations — but the indoor regulation is separate and distinct, has some different requirements, and applies to all indoor work areas where the temperature equals or exceeds 82 degrees.
More specifically, the Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment regulation applies to most indoor workplaces, such as restaurants, warehouses and manufacturing facilities. For indoor workplaces where the temperature reaches 82 degrees Fahrenheit, employers must take steps to protect workers from heat illness, including but not limited to providing water, rest and cool-down areas. These employers will also need to effectively train all employees — supervisory or not — before they begin work that is reasonably anticipated to result in exposure to a risk of heat illness. An effective written indoor heat illness prevention plan must be established, implemented and maintained — either integrated into an existing Injury and Illness Prevention Plan, an existing outdoor heat illness prevention plan or as a standalone document.
Additional requirements, where feasible, apply where the temperature reaches 87 degrees, such as cooling down the work area, implementing work-rest schedules, and providing personal heat-protective equipment. Where workers wear clothing that restricts heat removal or work in high radiant heat areas, the additional requirements apply at 82 degrees.
Also previously reported, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) — the standards-setting board within Cal/OSHA — approved the “Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment” standard on June 20, 2024, and the OAL had 30 working days to review and either approve or deny the proposal. The OSHSB requested that the regulation take effect immediately after OAL approval.
Employers with questions about the new indoor heat illness prevention regulation can check out Cal/OSHA’s FAQs page, which answers such questions as, “What is an acceptable way to measure the indoor temperature?” “What is meant by encouraging workers to rest in cool-down areas?” and “What is personal heat-protective equipment and when must it be used?” to name just a few.
In addition, employers may be covered under both the indoor and outdoor regulations if they have both indoor and outdoor workplaces; for those employers, Cal/OSHA’s Comparison Chart of Indoor and Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention Standards makes it easy to spot the differences between the two standards.
Jessica Mulholland, Managing Editor, CalChamber
CalChamber members can read more about Heat Illness in the HR Library, and about state-implemented rules that typically apply during the summer months in the recent HRCalifornia Extra article, Remember to Protect Employees From High Heat, Wildfire Smoke. Not a member? Learn more about how HRCalifornia can help you.
Preferred Members and higher also get their discount on CalChamber’s recorded California’s New Indoor Workplace Heat Illness Standards webinar.
