Cal/OSHA Aligns Indoor and Outdoor Heat Illness Rules

Cal/OSHA updated draft regulations to align indoor and outdoor heat illness standards.

Cal/OSHA has revised its draft regulations to align heat illness prevention standards for both indoor and outdoor work environments, aiming to provide consistent protections for workers statewide. According to industry analyses, the updated draft maintains the indoor temperature trigger at 82 degrees Fahrenheit for implementing heat illness prevention measures. This ensures that employers take similar precautionary steps regardless of whether workers are indoors or outdoors (NatLawReview).

Employers are also now permitted to integrate indoor heat illness training into their existing outdoor programs, streamlining compliance efforts across work settings. As experts Megan Stevens Shaked and Rachel L. Conn note, this allows for a unified training approach that better equips employees and managers to recognize and respond to heat-related risks (Conn Maciel Report).

The updated regulations include specific exemptions: correctional facilities operated by the state or local government are exempt from section 3396, and indoor locations that are not normally occupied—where employees are present less than 15 minutes per hour and that are not contiguous to occupied spaces—are also excluded. These carve-outs clarify the scope of the rules and reduce compliance uncertainty for affected employers (Cal/OSHA).

The deadline for submitting comments on the revised draft was August 22, 2023. With California facing rising temperatures and increased heat-related workplace incidents, these aligned standards reflect Cal/OSHA's effort to enhance safety through consistent and clear regulations.