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Workplace Safety Law on Heat Being Considered in New Jersey
The New Jersey Assembly is considering significant new legislation that would impose restrictions and requirements on indoor and outdoor work environments where employees are exposed to heat. The bill, A-5022, would establish an “Occupational Heat-Related Illness and Injury Prevention Program” enforced by the Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DOLWD). New Jersey's State Plan does not cover private sector employees, but that does not necessarily prohibit the state from enacting workplace safety laws covering issues that are not regulated at the federal level. With OSHA’s planned regulations on hazardous heat in flux, New Jersey legislators are seeking to step in and impose statewide heat safety rules.
The bill would require the Commissioner of DOLWD to promulgate a “heat stress standard,” meaning heat safety regulations, on or before June 1, 2025. Like similar regulations in other states, the bill specifies that the heat stress standard would require employers to take mandatory action at certain heat levels, and to implement a written “heat-related injury and illness prevention plan.” Such a plan would have to include a number of components that will be familiar to those tracking heat safety laws: regular monitoring of employees exposed to heat, paid rest breaks, annual training, and emergency response protocols, among other things. Moreover, employers would need to implement methods to prevent excessive exposure to heat, including administrative controls like scheduling flexibility, engineering controls like local exhaust ventilation, and use of personal protective equipment like cooling garments.
The bill would also empower the DOLWD to enter and inspect work environments for violations, just as OSHA is authorized to do at the federal level. The DOLWD would be able to inspect and copy records, question workers, conduct any necessary testing, and possibly require that employers sign sworn statements regarding compliance with the law. Significantly, the DOLWD would also have the authority to impose a “stop-work order” requiring an employer who is violating the law to cease all operations until it comes into compliance. And violations of the law, including disregarding a stop-work order, could result in significant penalties.
The bill also reflects an urgency to address the issue of heat in the workplace. Although it requires DOLWD to promulgate regulations—an involved process that can take months—a number of requirements would be in place within 30 days of the bill’s enactment for work environments with “excessive heat,” meaning an indoor temperature or outdoor heat index of 85°F. These include mandatory monitoring of environmental heat at job sites, providing paid rest breaks and access to shaded areas, instituting emergency response protocols, and limiting the amount of time an employee is exposed to high heat levels during the day.
It is no secret that the Trump administration is dramatically reducing the size and scope of administrative agencies, OSHA included. New Jersey’s pending legislation on hazardous heat is an example of states stepping in to fill perceived policy gaps at the federal level. It will not be the last such example.
We will continue to monitor this bill as it makes its way through the legislature.
