Asunción Valdivia Heat Protection Act

Summary#

This bill directs the Secretary of Labor to create a worker heat protection standard to prevent heat-related illness, injury, and death. The standard must use the best available evidence and aim to give the highest practical level of protection. It requires an interim final rule within one year of enactment and sets timelines for proposed and final rules after petitions or agency actions.

The standard may require engineering controls (for example, ventilation or shielding), administrative controls (for example, work schedules), employer-paid personal protective equipment (such as cooling garments), medical and emergency protocols, training for employees and supervisors, and written heat illness and injury prevention plans developed with worker participation. Core practices must include access to cool drinking water paid by the employer, paid rest breaks, shade or cool-down spaces, and acclimatization policies. Training and written materials must be provided in English and any language understood by employees when appropriate. The bill also updates rules for temporary labor camps and preserves or improves existing protections.

Enforcement provisions give the standard the same legal effect as existing occupational safety standards. The bill sets a four-year statute of limitations for citations, directs deference to the Secretary's reasonable interpretations, allows the Secretary to set recordkeeping and reporting rules, and includes whistleblower complaint and enforcement procedures modeled on existing protections.

The Secretary must update the National Agricultural Workers Survey with questions useful for measuring heat-related illness and the effect of these standards, and report to relevant congressional committees within one year of enactment.

What it means for you#

• If you are an employee exposed to heat: You would have rights to water, shade or cool spaces, paid rest breaks, training on heat illness, and protections like medical monitoring and emergency response. Materials and training must be provided in a language you understand when needed.
• If you are an employer: You would need to implement a heat prevention program when employees face hazardous heat. That can include engineering or administrative controls, employer-paid cooling gear, written plans made with worker input, paid rest breaks and paid medical removal, recordkeeping, and training. You could be inspected and cited under the same enforcement framework that applies to other occupational safety standards.
• If you are a health or safety official or researcher: The bill requires updating the agricultural workers survey and reporting to Congress about implementation.

Expenses#

• The bill authorizes appropriations of "such sums as may be necessary" for each fiscal year to carry out the act.
• It requires employers to provide certain items at their expense when required by the standard, including potable water and personal protective equipment specified in the standard. It also requires compensation at the employee's regular rate for time spent on required activities such as rest breaks, training, or medical removal protection.
• No publicly available information is provided in the text about total costs or budget estimates.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.