Heat Illness Prevention

As the temperatures cool outside, the regulations for indoor heat illness prevention are heating up. Cal/OSHA has been working on a proposed Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Standard since 2017. In the spring Cal/OSHA Standards Board published a draft standard and announced a public hearing on Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment.

On November 9, 2023

As Summer starts to heat up, employers with outdoor worksites should review their Heat Illness Prevention Plan (HIPP) compliance under Cal/OSHA’s outdoor heat illness prevention standard.

Which Employers Are Covered?

The standard applies to any employee working outside. This may include positions that are not solely outside.

Obligations for Covered Employers

Covered employers must

Cal/OSHA has been working on a proposed Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Standard since 2017. Now, nearly 5 years later, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board published a draft standard and announced a public hearing on Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment. This comes after Cal/OSHA had stepped up enforcement of indoor heat hazards despite no

On June 1, 2016, The California Occupational Safety and Health Division issued a “High Heat Advisory,” warning employers to protect their outdoor workers from heat illness as temperatures hit extreme highs this week — well over 100 degrees in many locations. This Advisory provides a timely reminder of California’s Heat Illness Prevention (“HIP”) regulation, adopted last year, which set specific requirements for potable water, shade, cool-down periods, high-heat procedures, emergency preparedness, and acclimatization, training, and heat illness prevention plans. Here’s a summary of the HIP regulation’s key requirements:

Potable Water Requirements

Employers must provide employees with access to potable drinking water that is fresh, pure, suitably cool, and provided free of charge to employees and should be located as close as practicable to the areas where employees are working, unless the employer can demonstrate infeasibility.  The employer must provide each employee with a minimum of one quart of water per hour for the entire shift.
Continue Reading High Heat Alert in California

On February 20, 2015, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted on new changes to the Heat Illness Prevention regulation. The Standards Board voted 5-1 to approve the proposed amended statute. Marley Heart, Executive Director of the Standards Board, requested the Office of Administrative Review to allow for an early effective date. The