New heat rules for outdoor workers in Washington will go into effect July 17, L&I announced Wednesday.
The state Department of Labor and Industries held meetings in May, including one in Yakima, to get feedback on proposed, year-round heat rules. The biggest difference between those proposed rules and the rules going into effect July 17 is the exclusion of firefighters and other personnel responding to emergencies.
L&I has been working on heat rules for outdoor workers since 2021, when the department received a petition to update regulations that were in effect from May to September. Emergency rules were implemented in 2021 and 2022.
The soon-to-be-implemented rules require employers to provide cool water and shade when temperatures are above 80 degrees. For workers in non-breathable clothing, the threshold is 52 degrees.
Workers would be able to take paid rest breaks as needed. New workers or workers returning from absences of more than a week would need time to acclimatize, or get used to high heat, and would be monitored by other workers or by radio or phone.
When temperatures are higher than 90 degrees, workers would get paid rest breaks of 10 minutes every two hours. If it’s hotter than 100 degrees, those breaks would be 15 minutes every hour.
The state’s new heat rules define heat waves, as well. When temperatures are 10 degrees warmer than the average of the previous five days, all employees would need to be monitored using methods like buddy systems, radios or telephones.
L&I’s final rules will exclude workers responding to fires, public health or public safety emergencies or during the maintenance of at-risk critical infrastructure.
Antonio De Loera, communications director for the United Farm Workers, welcomed the new rules and noted Yakima will experience temperatures above 90 degrees before July 17.
"These rules simply guarantee what should never have been in question: access to water, shade and rest during high temperatures," he said in a statement. "These rules could not come soon enough and will save lives."
Edgar Franks, political director for independent farmworker union Familias Unidas por la Justicia, said the new rules were better than their predecessors, which went into effect above 89 degrees, but FUJ will continue advocating for changes.
Franks has lobbied for a 75-degree threshold and hopes the rules will be revisited every few years. He noted that future temperatures may be more extreme due to climate change.
If workers are outdoors in high heat, Franks said they should be compensated financially and provided health care.
“For us, it’s still in a danger zone when you’re asking workers to work in 90 or 100 degrees,” he said.
Franks also raised concerns about acclimatization. He worries farmworkers will be asked to do more in unhealthy environments because expectations could be based on acclimatization.
"Farmworkers are not built different than anyone else. They're regular people," Franks said. "This acclimatization opens the door for harsher treatment."
