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PalletCentral • July-August 2022 23 One estimate provided by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) found the economic loss from heat to be at least $100 billion annually – a number that could double by 2030 and quintuple by 2050 under a higher emissions scenario. Until recently, OSHA had taken enforcement action against employers who exposed workers to excess heat via the General Duty Clause (Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act of 1970), but in 2019, OSHA lost a key heat stress case where OSHRC held it could not use the National Weather Services' "Heat Index" for enforcement - Secretary of Labor v. A.H. Sturgill Roofing, Inc. is necessitated a rulemaking in order for OSHA to be able to regulate this hazard at the federal level more effectively. Despite having enforcement powered somewhat restricted under the Sturgill decision, enforcement under the General Duty Clause remains an option where OSHA can carry its burden of proving that the employer recognized the hazard and failed to implement feasible abatement measures. e employer knowledge could be derived from the employer's own programs (if improperly implemented or discontinued, or if the employer follows programs under a state OSHA but does not provide comparable protections for workers in its other out- of-state locations). OSHA can also impute "industry recognition" to the employer, concerning ways to mitigate heat stress hazards. e maximum civil penalty for willful or repeated violations went up to $145,027 effective January 15, 2022. On October 27, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on "Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings." e ANPRM provides an overview of heat stress in the workplace (both indoors and outdoors) and the various measures taken to prevent it and protect workers from it. OSHA sought public input on the nature and extent of hazardous heat in the workplace and interventions and controls to prevent heat-related injury and illness, including measuring heat exposures, strategies to reduce it, personal protective equipment and other controls, and worker training and engagement. e comment period closed on January 26, 2022, and a proposed rule will be forthcoming, covering both general industry and construction. It is unclear at this time whether the rule will cover both indoor and outdoor work environments, but this appears to be OSHA's intention. In March 2022, the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety & Health (NACOSH) – a formal federal group that advises both OSHA and iStockphoto.com/CRobertson

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