Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) Title, Scope, and Application.
(1) This section shall be known and may be
cited as the Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez heat illness standard, and shall
apply to all outdoor places of employment.
EXCEPTION: If an industry is not listed in subsection
(a)(2), employers in that industry are not required to comply with subsection
(e), High-heat procedures.
(2) List of industries subject to all
provisions of this standard, including subsection (e):
(A) Agriculture
(B) Construction
(C) Landscaping
(D) Oil and gas extraction
(E) Transportation or delivery of
agricultural products, construction materials or other heavy materials (e.g.
furniture, lumber, freight, cargo, cabinets, industrial or commercial
materials), except for employment that consists of operating an air-conditioned
vehicle and does not include loading or unloading.
(3) This section applies to the control of
risk of occurrence of heat illness. This is not intended to exclude the
application of other sections of Title 8, including, but not necessarily
limited to, sections
1512,
1524,
3203,
3363,
3400,
3439,
3457,
6251,
6512,
6969,
6975,
8420 and
8602(e).
NOTE NO. 1: The measures required here may be
integrated into the employer's written Injury and Illness Program required by
section 3203, or maintained in a separate
document.
NOTE NO. 2: This standard is enforceable by the
Division of Occupational Safety and Health pursuant to Labor Code sections
6308 and
6317 and any
other statutes conferring enforcement powers upon the Division. It is a
violation of Labor Code sections
6310,
6311, and
6312 to
discharge or discriminate in any other manner against employees for exercising
their rights under this or any other provision offering occupational safety and
health protection to employees.
(b) Definitions.
"Acclimatization" means temporary adaptation of the
body to work in the heat that occurs gradually when a person is exposed to it.
Acclimatization peaks in most people within four to fourteen days of regular
work for at least two hours per day in the heat.
"Heat Illness" means a serious medical condition
resulting from the body's inability to cope with a particular heat load, and
includes heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat syncope and heat stroke.
"Environmental risk factors for heat illness" means
working conditions that create the possibility that heat illness could occur,
including air temperature, relative humidity, radiant heat from the sun and
other sources, conductive heat sources such as the ground, air movement,
workload severity and duration, protective clothing and personal protective
equipment worn by employees.
"Landscaping" means providing landscape care and
maintenance services and/or installing trees, shrubs, plants, lawns, or
gardens, or providing these services in conjunction with the design of
landscape plans and/or the construction (i.e., installation) of walkways,
retaining walls, decks, fences, ponds, and similar structures, except for
employment by an employer who operates a fixed establishment where the work is
to be performed and where drinking water is plumbed.
"Oil and gas extraction" means operating and/or
developing oil and gas field properties, exploring for crude petroleum or
natural gas, mining or extracting of oil or gas or recovering liquid
hydrocarbons from oil or gas field gases.
"Personal risk factors for heat illness" means factors
such as an individual's age, degree of acclimatization, health, water
consumption, alcohol consumption, caffeine consumption, and use of prescription
medications that affect the body's water retention or other physiological
responses to heat.
"Shade" means blockage of direct sunlight. One
indicator that blockage is sufficient is when objects do not cast a shadow in
the area of blocked sunlight. Shade is not adequate when heat in the area of
shade defeats the purpose of shade, which is to allow the body to cool. For
example, a car sitting in the sun does not provide acceptable shade to a person
inside it, unless the car is running with air conditioning. Shade may be
provided by any natural or artificial means that does not expose employees to
unsafe or unhealthy conditions and that does not deter or discourage access or
use.
"Temperature" means the dry bulb temperature in degrees
Fahrenheit obtainable by using a thermometer to measure the outdoor temperature
in an area where there is no shade. While the temperature measurement must be
taken in an area with full sunlight, the bulb or sensor of the thermometer
should be shielded while taking the measurement, e.g., with the hand or some
other object, from direct contact by sunlight.
(c) Provision of water. Employees shall have
access to potable drinking water meeting the requirements of Sections
1524,
3363, and
3457, as applicable, including but
not limited to the requirements that it be fresh, pure, suitably cool, and
provided to employees free of charge. The water shall be located as close as
practicable to the areas where employees are working. Where drinking water is
not plumbed or otherwise continuously supplied, it shall be provided in
sufficient quantity at the beginning of the work shift to provide one quart per
employee per hour for drinking for the entire shift. Employers may begin the
shift with smaller quantities of water if they have effective procedures for
replenishment during the shift as needed to allow employees to drink one quart
or more per hour. The frequent drinking of water, as described in subsection
(h)(1)(C), shall be encouraged.
(d)
Access to shade.
(1) Shade shall be present
when the temperature exceeds 80 degrees Fahrenheit. When the outdoor
temperature in the work area exceeds 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the employer shall
have and maintain one or more areas with shade at all times while employees are
present that are either open to the air or provided with ventilation or
cooling. The amount of shade present shall be at least enough to accommodate
the number of employees on recovery or rest periods, so that they can sit in a
normal posture fully in the shade without having to be in physical contact with
each other. The shade shall be located as close as practicable to the areas
where employees are working. Subject to the same specifications, the amount of
shade present during meal periods shall be at least enough to accommodate the
number of employees on the meal period who remain onsite.
(2) Shade shall be available when the
temperature does not exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit. When the outdoor temperature
in the work area does not exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit employers shall either
provide shade as per subsection (d)(1) or provide timely access to shade upon
an employee's request.
(3)
Employees shall be allowed and encouraged to take a preventative cool-down rest
in the shade when they feel the need to do so to protect themselves from
overheating. Such access to shade shall be permitted at all times. An
individual employee who takes a preventative cool-down rest (A) shall be
monitored and asked if he or she is experiencing symptoms of heat illness; (B)
shall be encouraged to remain in the shade; and (C) shall not be ordered back
to work until any signs or symptoms of heat illness have abated, but in no
event less than 5 minutes in addition to the time needed to access the
shade.
(4) If an employee exhibits
signs or reports symptoms of heat illness while taking a preventative cool-down
rest or during a preventative cool-down rest period, the employer shall provide
appropriate first aid or emergency response according to subsection (f) of this
section.
Exceptions to subsections (d)(1) and (d)(2):
(1) Where the employer can demonstrate that
it is infeasible or unsafe to have a shade structure, or otherwise to have
shade present on a continuous basis, the employer may utilize alternative
procedures for providing access to shade if the alternative procedures provide
equivalent protection.
(2) Except
for employers in the agricultural industry, cooling measures other than shade
(e.g., use of misting machines) may be provided in lieu of shade if the
employer can demonstrate that these measures are at least as effective as shade
in allowing employees to cool.
(e) High-heat procedures. The employer shall
implement high-heat procedures when the temperature equals or exceeds 95
degrees Fahrenheit. These procedures shall include the following to the extent
practicable:
(1) Ensuring that effective
communication by voice, observation, or electronic means is maintained so that
employees at the work site can contact a supervisor when necessary. An
electronic device, such as a cell phone or text messaging device, may be used
for this purpose only if reception in the area is reliable.
(2) Observing employees for alertness and
signs or symptoms of heat illness. The employer shall ensure effective employee
observation/monitoring by implementing one or more of the following:
(A) Supervisor or designee observation of 20
or fewer employees, or
(B)
Mandatory buddy system, or
(C)
Regular communication with sole employee such as by radio or cellular phone,
or
(D) Other effective means of
observation.
(3)
Designating one or more employees on each worksite as authorized to call for
emergency medical services, and allowing other employees to call for emergency
services when no designated employee is available.
(4) Reminding employees throughout the work
shift to drink plenty of water.
(5)
Pre-shift meetings before the commencement of work to review the high heat
procedures, encourage employees to drink plenty of water, and remind employees
of their right to take a cool-down rest when necessary.
(6) For employees employed in agriculture,
the following shall also apply:
When temperatures reach 95 degrees or above, the
employer shall ensure that the employee takes a minimum ten minute net
preventative cool-down rest period every two hours. The preventative cool-down
rest period required by this paragraph may be provided concurrently with any
other meal or rest period required by Industrial Welfare Commission Order No.
14 (8 CCR
11140) if the timing of the preventative
cool-down rest period coincides with a required meal or rest period thus
resulting in no additional preventative cool-down rest period required in an
eight hour workday. If the workday will extend beyond eight hours, then an
additional preventative cool-down rest period will be required at the
conclusion of the eighth hour of work; and if the workday extends beyond ten
hours, then another preventative cool-down rest period will be required at the
conclusion of the tenth hour and so on. For purposes of this section,
preventative cool-down rest period has the same meaning as "recovery period" in
Labor Code Section
226.7(a).
(f) Emergency Response Procedures. The
Employer shall implement effective emergency response procedures including:
(1) Ensuring that effective communication by
voice, observation, or electronic means is maintained so that employees at the
work site can contact a supervisor or emergency medical services when
necessary. An electronic device, such as a cell phone or text messaging device,
may be used for this purpose only if reception in the area is reliable. If an
electronic device will not furnish reliable communication in the work area, the
employer will ensure a means of summoning emergency medical services.
(2) Responding to signs and symptoms of
possible heat illness, including but not limited to first aid measures and how
emergency medical services will be provided.
(A) If a supervisor observes, or any employee
reports, any signs or symptoms of heat illness in any employee, the supervisor
shall take immediate action commensurate with the severity of the
illness.
(B) If the signs or
symptoms are indicators of severe heat illness (such as, but not limited to,
decreased level of consciousness, staggering, vomiting, disorientation,
irrational behavior or convulsions), the employer must implement emergency
response procedures.
(C) An
employee exhibiting signs or symptoms of heat illness shall be monitored and
shall not be left alone or sent home without being offered onsite first aid
and/or being provided with emergency medical services in accordance with the
employer's procedures.
(3) Contacting emergency medical services
and, if necessary, transporting employees to a place where they can be reached
by an emergency medical provider.
(4) Ensuring that, in the event of an
emergency, clear and precise directions to the work site can and will be
provided as needed to emergency responders.
(g) Acclimatization.
(1) All employees shall be closely observed
by a supervisor or designee during a heat wave. For purposes of this section
only, "heat wave" means any day in which the predicted high temperature for the
day will be at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit and at least ten degrees Fahrenheit
higher than the average high daily temperature in the preceding five
days.
(2) An employee who has been
newly assigned to a high heat area shall be closely observed by a supervisor or
designee for the first 14 days of the employee's
employment.
(h) Training.
(1) Employee training. Effective training in
the following topics shall be provided to each supervisory and non-supervisory
employee before the employee begins work that should reasonably be anticipated
to result in exposure to the risk of heat illness:
(A) The environmental and personal risk
factors for heat illness, as well as the added burden of heat load on the body
caused by exertion, clothing, and personal protective equipment.
(B) The employer's procedures for complying
with the requirements of this standard, including, but not limited to, the
employer's responsibility to provide water, shade, cool-down rests, and access
to first aid as well as the employees' right to exercise their rights under
this standard without retaliation.
(C) The importance of frequent consumption of
small quantities of water, up to 4 cups per hour, when the work environment is
hot and employees are likely to be sweating more than usual in the performance
of their duties.
(D) The concept,
importance, and methods of acclimatization pursuant to the employer's
procedures under subsection (i)(4).
(E) The different types of heat illness, the
common signs and symptoms of heat illness, and appropriate first aid and/or
emergency responses to the different types of heat illness, and in addition,
that heat illness may progress quickly from mild symptoms and signs to serious
and life threatening illness.
(F)
The importance to employees of immediately reporting to the employer, directly
or through the employee's supervisor, symptoms or signs of heat illness in
themselves, or in co-workers.
(G)
The employer's procedures for responding to signs or symptoms of possible heat
illness, including how emergency medical services will be provided should they
become necessary.
(H) The
employer's procedures for contacting emergency medical services, and if
necessary, for transporting employees to a point where they can be reached by
an emergency medical service provider.
(I) The employer's procedures for ensuring
that, in the event of an emergency, clear and precise directions to the work
site can and will be provided as needed to emergency responders. These
procedures shall include designating a person to be available to ensure that
emergency procedures are invoked when appropriate.
(2) Supervisor training. Prior to supervising
employees performing work that should reasonably be anticipated to result in
exposure to the risk of heat illness effective training on the following topics
shall be provided to the supervisor:
(A) The
information required to be provided by section (h)(1) above.
(B) The procedures the supervisor is to
follow to implement the applicable provisions in this section.
(C) The procedures the supervisor is to
follow when an employee exhibits signs or reports symptoms consistent with
possible heat illness, including emergency response procedures.
(D) How to monitor weather reports and how to
respond to hot weather advisories.
(i) Heat Illness Prevention Plan. The
employer shall establish, implement, and maintain, an effective heat illness
prevention plan. The plan shall be in writing in both English and the language
understood by the majority of the employees and shall be made available at the
worksite to employees and to representatives of the Division upon request. The
Heat Illness Prevention Plan may be included as part of the employer's Illness
and Injury Prevention Program required by section
3203, and shall, at a minimum,
contain:
(1) Procedures for the provision of
water and access to shade.
(2) The
high heat procedures referred to in subsection (e).
(3) Emergency Response Procedures in
accordance with subsection (f).
(4)
Acclimatization methods and procedures in accordance with subsection
(g).
1. New
section filed 8-22-2005 as an emergency; operative 8-22-2005 (Register 2005,
No. 34). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 12-20-2005
or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following
day.
2. New section refiled 12-20-2005 as an emergency; operative
12-20-2005 (Register 2005, No. 51). A Certificate of Compliance must be
transmitted to OAL by 4-19-2006 or emergency language will be repealed by
operation of law on the following day.
3. New section refiled
4-19-2006 as an emergency; operative 4-19-2006 (Register 2006, No. 16). A
Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 8-17-2006 or emergency
language will be repealed by operation of law on the following
day.
4. Certificate of Compliance as to 4-19-2006 order, including
amendment of section heading and section, transmitted to OAL 6-16-2006 and
filed 7-27-2006 (Register 2006, No. 30).
5. Amendment filed
10-5-2010; operative 11-4-2010 (Register 2010, No. 41).
6. Amendment
filed 4-3-2015; operative 5-1-2015 pursuant to Government Code section
11343.4(b)(3)
(Register 2015, No. 14).
7. Change without regulatory effect
amending subsections (a)-(a)(1) and amending NOTE filed 3-10-2020 pursuant to
section 100, title 1, California Code of
Regulations (Register 2020, No. 11).
Note: Authority cited: Section
142.3, Labor
Code. Reference: Sections
142.3 and
6721, Labor
Code.
