New Nevada Heat Rule Lacks Strong Worker Protections

Nevada is now the latest state in the U.S. to finalize its own heat illness standard. The new regulation, which covers businesses with 10 or more employees in both indoor and outdoor settings, comes on the heels of a 26 percent increase in heat-related complaints to Nevada OSHA in 2024. In a state where summer temperatures can easily top 100^℉, keeping workers safe from dangerous heat could save a life.

“Hard physical work and heat are a potentially dangerous mix,” said LHSFNA Management Co-Chairman David F. Rampone. “Construction employers and other organizations can manage this risk and keep workers safe by planning ahead for this hazard, providing water, rest and shade and monitoring workers for the symptoms of heat illness.”

What’s in the Standard?

Nevada’s new rule is much less prescriptive than recent heat standards in states such as Maryland and Oregon. The entire standard is only seven pages long, and gives employers broad discretion to evaluate their workplace and implement a plan that addresses their needs.

The standard’s main sections require:

Job Hazard Analysis (JHA): When a majority of workers will experience heat exposure for at least 30 minutes in a 1 hour period, employers must perform a one-time job hazard analysis of working conditions that could cause heat illness. [Note: the standard exempts employers with workers in climate-controlled environments.]

Written Safety Program: When the JHA determines heat illness is possible, employers must have a written plan that includes the following:

• Provisions for water and cooling methods, and for rest breaks when employees exhibits signs of heat illness
• An employee designee who will perform monitoring of working conditions that could cause heat illness
• A designated person who will contact emergency services if needed

Training: Employers are required to train workers on the hazards of heat illness and how to minimize those hazards.

Standard Prioritizes Flexibility Over Worker Safety

The LHSFNA supports safety and health standards that protect workers and give employers flexibility in how they conduct their operations. However, Nevada’s new standard is so broad that workers on different construction sites could have very different experiences when it comes to being protected from heat illness.

“We applaud employers that step up to protect their workforce. Unfortunately, this weak rule allows employers to decide when and how much to protect workers on the job,” said Travis Parsons, the LHSFNA’s Director of Occupational Safety & Health. “There’s concern this rule may result in a false sense of safety around heat, and workers could suffer the consequences. It’s also extremely difficult to enforce rules that are this vague, as they leave too much room for subjective interpretation by employers.”

What’s Lacking in the Standard?

• Stronger language on water and shade. Nevada’s standard doesn’t specify how much water employers need to provide per employee or how close shade structures must be to the working area.
• Access to rest breaks when needed. The standard only requires workers to be given rest breaks after they’re already showing the signs or symptoms of heat illness. This leaves management to assess those symptoms or forces individual workers to speak up. Stronger standards mandate rest breaks during high-heat conditions (e.g., at least 10 minutes every two hours when 90^℉ or more).
• Temperature trigger points. The standard lacks temperature trigger points, leaving it up to the employer to decide which tasks could cause heat illness and when to implement protections. Maryland’s new standard, for example, mandates specific actions starting at 90^℉. Because employers only have to implement their heat plan when a majority of workers would be affected, individual workers may be less willing to speak up.
• Acclimatization. Perhaps most important, the standard lacks any mention of acclimatization at all. More than 70 percent of heat deaths occur in a worker’s first week on the job before they have time to get used to the heat. By not making employers even consider acclimatization in their written plan, new workers will remain at higher risk.

Despite its weaknesses, the Nevada standard does provide another route to stronger protections – collective bargaining. The standard notes that the regulation doesn’t allow employers to ignore any collective bargaining obligations and that these protections can exceed the requirements of the standard. For more information on the Nevada standard and other state-specific standards, contact the Fund’s OSH Division.

[Nick Fox]