Evolving Safety Standards

I was watching the news last night and there was a story about the toll the summer’s heat is taking on workers of all types this summer.

Temperature extremes are nothing new in summer or winter, but recently summer temperatures have been creeping higher particularly in the sun belt states, and exposing workers to dangerous health concerns.

The hotter periods seem to last a few weeks longer today than they did a generation or two ago, and workers who perform their jobs outdoors or indoors without a climate-controlled environment are suffering.

Over the last decade or so, the workers that I represent in union contract negotiations have been seeking to establish safety parameters when weather extremes place their safety in jeopardy. We have been successful to some degree in making sure that workers are clothed properly, receive adequate hydration, and get breaks when weather takes a toll on their physical well-being.

The Biden administration, according to the news story has proposed new OSHA regulations that would require covered employers to evaluate heat risks for their employees and to develop an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in workplaces affected by excessive heat. That would include ensuring proper hydration, temperature control at indoor work spaces, and adequate rest breaks.

The regulation would also mandate training for workers and managers, and to have procedures on how to assist workers who become ill or injured as a result of exposures to excessive heat.

In Connecticut employers are required to ensure break times for employees regardless of environmental conditions. Under the law, employees who work at least seven and one half consecutive hours must receive a 30-minute meal break after the first two hours and before the last two hours of the shift.

It is important to note that the employer does not have to pay the employee for this time. If the employer does not pay the employee for the time, it must forbid the employee from working during this time. Meal breaks under Connecticut law are unpaid.

However, in lieu of offering an unpaid meal break, the employer can offer two paid 15-minute breaks. However the employee cannot be allowed to work during these paid breaks.

There are some exemptions to the rule. For example if providing a break would endanger public safety, there is an exception. Likewise if there are fewer than five employees working on a shift, or the work can only be performed by one employee, then the employer is not required to comply.

The breaks provisions of the law do not apply to certified professional educators who work directly with children.

Connecticut law does not currently have specific requirements regarding exposure to weather elements like heat, cold, and, rain. However generally Connecticut employers are required to use reasonable care to provide their employees with a reasonably safe place in which to work. This statute came into play during the pandemic when employees were demanding that PPE, and other safety measures be implemented to deal with the effects of the pandemic.

It is likely that if temperature extremes continue to emerge that Connecticut will join other states in mandating certain safety procedures to protect workers.