Cal/OSHA Standards Board Adopts Indoor Heat Illness Standard

On June 20, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) — the standards-setting board within the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) — approved the “Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment” standard, and the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has 30 working days to review and approve or deny the proposal.

As previously reported, many of the proposed indoor heat illness requirements mirror those of the outdoor heat illness regulations — but the indoor regulation is separate and distinct, has some different requirements, and applies to all indoor work areas where the temperature equals or exceeds 82 degrees.

The OSHSB has requested that the regulation take effect immediately after OAL approval, which means August 1 is most likely the earliest effective date.

Given that this new standard — which covers most indoor workplaces, such as restaurants, warehouses and manufacturing facilities — may take effect in about a month, covered employers should consider attending CalChamber’s upcoming It’s Getting Hot In Here: California’s New Indoor Workplace Heat Illness Standards webinar to get up to speed on the regulation before it’s in effect. In this webinar, our employment law experts will cover:

• Key definitions associated with the standards.
• Administrative and engineering controls to address heat illness hazards.
• Special rules with the provision of water and cool-down areas.
• Heat illness symptoms and emergency response.
• Training employees and supervisors on these standards and their roles.
• Illustrative scenarios and key takeaways.

Employers may be covered under both the indoor and outdoor regulations if they have both indoor and outdoor workplaces; for those employers, Cal/OSHA’s Comparison Chart of Indoor and Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention Standards makes it easy to spot the differences between the two standards.

Jessica Mulholland, Managing Editor, CalChamber

CalChamber members can read more about Heat Illness in the HR Library, and about state-implemented rules that typically apply during the summer months in the recent HRCalifornia Extra article, Remember to Protect Employees From High Heat, Wildfire Smoke. Not a member? Learn more about how HRCalifornia can help you.