May 19, 2025 | Fresno, CA — MedLegalNews.com — Prevent Heat Illness: With temperatures rising across California, Cal/OSHA is reminding employers of their legal duty to protect workers from heat-related illness at both indoor and outdoor worksites. Heat illness can lead to serious medical conditions and even death if not properly prevented.
Statewide Efforts to Protect Workers
To help prepare employers and workers for the summer heat, Cal/OSHA continues to offer educational resources, compliance guidance, and multilingual training sessions. In collaboration with the Nisei Farmers League, Cal/OSHA hosted a heat illness prevention training today in Easton, continuing a longstanding annual initiative that began in 2008.
Workers and employers gathered at the C.P.D.E.S. Portuguese Hall, where they received hands-on training in both English and Spanish. These sessions addressed practical strategies to reduce the risk of heat illness in both indoor and outdoor settings. The training also emphasized requirements specific to nighttime agricultural operations.
Cal/OSHA Chief: Preparation is Key
“California workers—especially those laboring outdoors or in hot indoor environments—face serious risks from heat exhaustion, dehydration, and other heat-related conditions,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Debra Lee. “Our goal is to ensure employers and workers are prepared, informed, and equipped to prevent heat illness before it happens.”
Legal Standards and Employer Requirements
Under California’s Heat Illness Prevention Standards, employers must take specific steps to protect employees. For outdoor worksites, employers are required to provide access to shade, cool water, rest periods, and training. The indoor heat rule applies when indoor temperatures reach or exceed 82°F, and employers in dual environments must comply with both standards.
A comparison chart from Cal/OSHA helps clarify employer obligations under the indoor and outdoor standards.
Special Emphasis Program and New Agriculture Task Force
Cal/OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention Special Emphasis Program combines regulatory enforcement with outreach and education efforts across California. The agency offers tools like the Heat Illness Prevention eTool and multilingual materials through 99calor.org to help employers develop compliant heat safety programs.
To further address safety in California’s agricultural sector, Cal/OSHA recently launched a dedicated Agricultural Enforcement Task Force and Outreach Unit. This new unit will:
- Conduct targeted inspections
- Expand educational outreach
- Address long-standing worker safety concerns
With statewide offices, the unit is designed to improve Cal/OSHA’s reach in protecting vulnerable agricultural workers during high-heat periods.
🔗 Read More from MedLegalNews.com:
- Court Upholds Denial of Health Care Worker’s Claim for Knee Injury
- Worker Fails to Prove Marijuana Use Didn’t Contribute to Fall From Roof
- Committee Passes State Hospital Heart Trouble Presumption Bill
- Construction Company Cited $157,500 After Fatal Trench Collapse
- Support Fire Recovery Efforts: California Invests $25 Million