Arizona workers may soon get new heat protections on the job, but critics say they won’t mean much without the force of law.

A state advisory committee voted Tuesday to recommend proposed guidelines from the state’s Workplace Heat Safety Task Force. The guidelines aim to provide workers with access to cool water, shade, and rest. Employers would also put in place heat-illness prevention plans. A separate group called the Arizona Heat Standards Coalition has been pushing for enforceable rules. Tuesday’s vote left them frustrated.

Arizona may not get formal regulations to protect workers from extreme heat on the job anytime soon. On Tuesday, the second step in a three-part process for establishing a new heat safety standard fell short of what many labor rights groups were hoping for.

An advisory committee to the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health on Tuesday voted to recommend the Industrial Commission of Arizona consider new workplace heat safety guidelines. But the committee did not specify how Arizona employers should be held accountable for following those guidelines.

In that climate, people take dangerous jobs and stay silent about hazards. They skip water breaks in extreme heat, avoid asking for training and keep quiet about faulty equipment because they cannot risk losing a shift. Fear of retaliation has created a chilling effect in some of the most hazardous industries in America.

The city of Phoenix is adding more protections for outdoor workers exposed to extreme heat. The updates to Phoenix’s workplace heat rules come as the Industrial Commission of Arizona is considering implementing heat safety rules that would apply to workers statewide. That process is ongoing.

National COSH joined Arizona workers and advocates at an ADOSH public hearing to call for a statewide, enforceable heat standard to protect workers from extreme heat exposure.

Testimony at the hearing focused on the need for guaranteed access to water, shade, and rest for workers exposed to extreme heat. Participants argued that voluntary guidance and reliance on OSHA’s General Duty Clause have not adequately protected workers from heat-related illness and injury.

Dozens of workers and safety advocates packed a meeting on Wednesday at the state’s Industrial Commission, pushing back against proposed heat protection guidelines.

Workers say the guidelines don’t go far enough to protect them in the dangerous summer heat. They instead want to see state officials adopt formal rules with penalties attached.

They are part of the Arizona Heat Standards Coalition, which delivered a petition to the governor recently calling for enforceable heat standards so that employers who don’t follow them can be held accountable.

Various labor organizations filed a request for Gov. Katie Hobbs to sign an executive order to help protect workers exposed to dangerous high temperatures. Interview with Monica Sandschafer from Mi Familia en Acción. (Interview in Spanish).
 

Jazmin Moreno Dominguez, an organizer with Agave Community Threads, read aloud statements the group collected from farmworkers in six Arizona cities over the summer.

The Arizona Heat Standards Coalition delivered a petition to Governor Katie Hobbs' office Tuesday, pushing for enforceable rules on water, shade, and breaks for farmworkers, construction workers, and welders.
 

The Arizona Heat Standards Coalition gathered at the state Capitol Tuesday morning with labor leaders, workers and other supporters to advocate for specific heat safety protocols and regulations. The coalition submitted a petition with over 1,500 signatures to Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Industrial Commission of Arizona.

[Trina] David and others gathered outside the state Capitol, just 15 minutes from her job, on Dec. 2 in support of heat-related workplace protections. The group, members of Arizona’s Heat Standards Coalition, delivered a petition to Gov. Katie Hobbs ahead of new heat safety recommendations expected by the end of the month.

The Arizona Heat Standards Coalition and labor leaders delivered a signed petition to the Capitol asking for enforceable heat protections for workers.

On Tuesday morning, labor groups and organizations part of the Arizona Heat Standards Coalition dropped off a petition to the Governor’s Office, demanding enforceable heat protections for workers. 

The agency should resume work on the national heat standard, said Jessica Martinez, National COSH’s executive director, noting efforts to protect outdoor and indoor workers from “preventable illness and death” is critical as climate change contributes to rising temperatures in the U.S. and around the world.

“They face pretty chronic understaffing, and now we’re asking a smaller number of inspectors to work without pay,” said Jessica Martinez, executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. “They’re dedicated public servants who believe in protecting workers’ lives — but they’re also human, with their own families and bills to attend to.” 

Tenet was highlighted in 2023’s Dirty Dozen report by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, which found that Tenet cuts corners on patient and worker safety and retaliates against those who speak out about safety issues.

The director of a worker-safety group known as the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health said this month that the explosion likely could have been prevented, and that workers across the country face similar risks from reduced safety measures and enforcement.

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) has expressed deep sorrow and outrage following the catastrophic explosion on October 10 at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant in Bucksnort, Tennessee. The blast killed 16 workers and completely destroyed the facility.

As extreme heat becomes more common across America, outdoor and factory workers face deadly risks on the job. Despite numerous heat-related deaths each year, safety standards remain inconsistent and vary widely between states. Advocates are now pushing for nationwide regulations to guarantee every worker access to shade, water, rest, and the right to speak up without fear of retaliation.

Podcast with Pamela Walaski, 2024-2025 President, Board of Directors of the American Society of Safety Professionals and Katelyn Parady, development and strategic programs liaison, National Council for Occupational Safety and Health