Maryland Injury Attorney Blog
Seems like summers in Maryland are getting hotter and hotter, and most of us can’t wait to escape into the comfort of air conditioning. However, many workers do not have that luxury. That includes a number of professions including emergency personnel (police officers, EMTs, and firefighters), construction workers and other contractors, utility workers, agricultural workers, transportation workers, housekeepers, and others laboring outdoors and in non-air-conditioned environments.
Heat-related illness can take a range of forms leading to work-related injury and death, including heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat syncope (fainting and/or dizziness), and heat cramps. Fatigue and disorientation brought on by heat can lead to serious accidents on the job.
The U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed federal workplace standards to protect workers in the heat, however those may take months to pass (and could be delayed depending on the election results). Only five states have heat-related regulations to protect workers, and none in our region.
Now, Maryland is set to become the first East Coast state to enact comprehensive heat standards to protect workers.
[read more]
The new regulations would require employers to offer protection from heat-related illnesses by providing water, shade, and rest to workers exposed to heat above stated thresholds. In addition, the new Maryland Heat Stress Standards, published to the Maryland Register on July 26, 2024, states:
“Employers may also rotate workers from heat-exposed environments to cool environments (such as air conditioned vehicles), adjust work hours to cooler times of day, or implement similar administrative measures with minimal cost. Employers implementing the recommended break schedules during high-heat conditions may incur increased downtime costs, and lower productivity, during those days. Cumulative break time at the 90-degree heat index level would total approximately 40 minutes for an 8-hour shift.” (See link below to full Notice of Proposed Action for Maryland — 09.12.32 Heat Stress Standards.)
If you’re working in the heat this summer in Maryland — pace yourself, seek shade when possible, and stay hydrated. Heat-related illness can overtake workers very quickly, particularly those who are striving to get their work done in temperatures topping 90 degrees. The humidity we’re often experiencing can make the summer heat feel even worse.
If you or a loved one have experienced heat-related stress or injury on the job, please contact our office today. Our Maryland Workers Compensation attorneys understand the law as it applies to these types and other work-related illnesses and injuries.
Stay cool out there and be safe on the job!
Sources:
Maryland is set to finalize its heat standard for workers later this summer
NPR.org July 24,2024
Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH), Division of Labor and Industry
July 30, 2024
Maryland Registry: 09.12.32 Heat Stress Standards
July 30, 2024
OSHA Proposes First Federal Workplace Heat Standard
July 2, 2024