Worker safety regulators in Washington are warning businesses that temperatures and wildfire smoke are making for hazardous conditions for outdoor workers.
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries issued a notice to employers and workers about which weather conditions trigger extra precautions and of the rules in place to protect workers
The state’s heat rules include protections for outdoor workers that kick in at 80 degrees Fahrenheit, with additional requirements in the kind of high heat that much of the state is now experiencing.
At or above 80 degrees, employers are required to:
- Encourage and allow workers to take paid preventative cool-down rest periods as needed;
- Provide enough shade or other way of cooling down for all employees on a meal or rest break to use;
- Provide enough cool drinking water for each employee to drink a quart per hour;
- Closely observe new employees, employees returning from absences, and to monitor all employees during heat waves.
When temperatures reach 90 degrees or above, employers must provide a 10-minute paid cool down rest period every two hours. When temperatures reache 100 degrees or higher, the requirement for breaks becomes 15-minutes of paid cool down rest every hour.
The state is experiencing drier than normal conditions, and earlier wildfire season, with several wildfires are burning across the state this week.
State rules require employers to prepare to protect workers from wildfire smoke with a response plan, which includes how employers will communicate with workers, training employees to report smoke and planned medical treatment for employees who say they’re experiencing symptoms like shortness of breath, nausea, chest pain and dizziness.
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