Florida becomes the second state to stop local governments from requiring heat protection for outdoor workers after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 433 into law.
The law, which Mr. DeSantis signed last week, takes effect July 1 and places several restrictions on city and county governments, including the ability to set heat exposure requirements not yet required by state or federal law.
Republican Rep. Tiffany Esposito of Fort Myers, the House bill’s sponsor, told reporters that her husband worked in South Florida’s construction industry for 20 years and that she believes the industry takes worker safety seriously. He said he knew there was.
“This is really a people-centered bill. If you want to talk about Floridians thriving, they’re doing that by having good job opportunities. Or if you want to talk about health and wellness. That’s what I want to talk about,” Esposito said. On how to ensure all Floridians are healthy, we need to make sure they have access to good jobs. And in order to provide good jobs, we need to keep companies out of business. ”
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, about 2 million people in Florida work outdoors in jobs ranging from construction to agriculture. Summers in the state average highs of 95 degrees, and the humidity and blazing sun can push temperatures well above 100 degrees.
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What is HB433?
House Bill 433, called the Employment Regulation Act, would “prohibit political branches (city and county governments) from maintaining a minimum wage other than the state or federal minimum wage that the political branch controls, influences, or awards. “It is prohibited to do so.” Modify and make available wage or employment benefits-based incentives for companies doing business with the political sector. ”
Regarding heat exposure protection, the bill’s summary details that the political sector will be prohibited from:
- Requiring employers (including those with contracts with political departments) to meet or provide heat exposure requirements not required by state or federal law.
- Giving preference to, or considering or seeking information from, an employer in a competitive solicitation based on the employer’s heat exposure requirements.
The bill’s analysis digs deeper into its decisions to regulate protection against heat exposure, saying the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has developed best practices over the years. It also added recognition that preventing heatstroke “requires education and close cooperation between employers and employees.”
“Local governments are starting to adopt their own requirements regarding heat exposure in the workplace, some of which only apply to specific industries, and follow relevant guidelines to protect yourself from heat-related illnesses. The personal responsibility of employees is ignored and becomes dependent on heatstroke. According to the bill, fines and fines will be imposed on employers to fund the enforcement of such requirements. It is something.
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What are the strategies for dealing with the heat throughout the state of Florida?
Florida does not have a statewide standard, even though the state outlines in its brief that counties and cities must adopt the state’s position on heat exposure prevention. However, the bill’s language strongly supports OSHA’s guidelines on this subject.
Florida is under federal OSHA, which covers most private sector workers in the state. State and local government employees are not covered by federal OSHA.
OSHA has a “General Duty Clause” that requires employers to provide a workplace “free from recognized hazards that cause or are likely to cause death or serious bodily harm.” . This includes heat-related hazards that can cause death or serious bodily harm.
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What does HB 433 mean for workers in Florida’s cities and counties?
Overall, the bill would “nullify and prohibit” local heat protection measures in all 67 Florida counties.
In Miami-Dade County, the bill would override the county’s proposal to require outdoor construction and farm workers to take a 10-minute shade break every two hours. After years of negotiations, county commissioners had the item on their agenda until it was signed into law.
“We’ve had a lot of concerns from the county of Miami-Dade,” DeSantis said at a press conference Friday about the bill.
“I don’t think it would have been an issue in other parts of the state,” he said. “I think they were pursuing something that was going to cause a lot of problems there.”
Sierra Club Florida political director Luigi Guadarrama said in a statement that the new law is the latest example of DeSantis failing the state’s environment, economy and workers.
“Instead of addressing the burgeoning crisis of protecting the workforce, the governor chose to abandon millions of hard-working Floridians and leave Florida even more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. ” Guadarrama said. “He has consistently ignored the real issues affecting Florida families in order to appease donors and big corporations.”
How many people die from heatstroke each year in Florida?
The University of Florida recorded 215 heat-related deaths in Florida from 2010 to 2020, with the annual death toll varying between 10 and 28.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average annual number of deaths from heatstroke will increase by 95% from 2010 to 2022, with approximately 1,200 people dying from heatstroke each year in the United States.
According to the Florida Climate Center at Florida State University, Florida is expected to have more extremely hot days (temperatures above 95 degrees) this summer compared to the average over the past 30 years.
What other states have repealed local heat ordinances?
Last year, Texas ended the ability of city and county governments to mandate protections for outside workers through House Bill 2127.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill on June 13th, and it went into effect on September 1st. The law repealed safety measures such as Austin’s 2010 ordinance requiring construction sites to take at least 10 minutes of rest and hydration every four hours. A similar ordinance was enacted in Dallas in 2015.
The City of San Antonio was considering a similar measure prior to approving HB 2127.
Which states have heat measures in place?
Only five states have implemented statewide heat protection measures, and California became the first after four farmworkers died of heatstroke in 2005.
The following states require employers to provide shade and water as temperatures soar.
- California
- colorado
- minnesota
- Oregon
- Washington
