Providing Access to Shade and Cool-Down Areas

Both outdoor and indoor heat illness prevention standards require employers to provide access to areas where employees can cool off: shade for outdoor workers and "cool-down areas" for indoor workers.

Shade must be present when the temperature exceeds 80 F.¹

Exclamation content: Cal/OSHA recommends that employers monitor predicted weather temperatures in advance to know when the temperature will probably exceed 80° F.

While employees are present, you must provide and maintain one or more shaded areas at all times that must be open to the air or ventilated or cooled by other safe means.