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A08935 Summary:

BILL NOA08935A
 
SAME ASSAME AS S01604-D
 
SPONSORBronson
 
COSPNSRZinerman, Otis, Shimsky, Lunsford, Raga, Steck, Gibbs, Burdick, Ardila, Gonzalez-Rojas, Glick, Dilan, McDonald
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add Art 20-D 742 - 747, Lab L
 
Provides for the regulation of indoor and outdoor worksites with temperature protection standards and education, training and reporting requirements to ensure that employers provide safe conditions for their employees.
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A08935 Actions:

BILL NOA08935A
 
01/30/2024referred to labor
03/06/2024amend and recommit to labor
03/06/2024print number 8935a
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A08935 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A8935A
 
SPONSOR: Bronson
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the labor law, in relation to regulating the temperature of all indoor and outdoor worksites   PURPOSE: This legislation would regulate the high temperature in indoor and outdoor worksites within the scope of the article.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section one would establish that this act shall be known and may be cited as the "Temperature Extreme Mitigation (TEMP) act". Section two would establish legislative findings and intent. Section three would add a new article 20-D to the Labor Law encompassing temperature regulation by employers, and specifying within the article applicable definitions, requirements, education and training standards, and enforcement mechanisms. Section four would establish the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: New Yorkers, working both in outdoor and indoor sites, are exposed to extreme temperatures due to climate change. This legislation includes necessary temperature standards to be followed by employers within the scope to avoid undue harm to employees. This involves both skyrocketing heat in the summer and freezing cold in the winter. Every year, New York City has high numbers of heat-related emergency department visits, hospital admissions, and deaths as found and declared by the NY state legislature. According to the New York City Office of the Mayor, each year there are an estimated 450 heat-related ED visits, 150 heat-related hospital admissions, 10 heat stroke deaths, and 350 heat-exacerbated deaths, caused by heat-worsening existing chronic conditions. By declaring that the government is obligated to ensure that employers provide safe conditions for their employees, this bill seeks to mitigate as much as possible the harmful effects of heat within the workplace.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2023-2024: A3321-C - Referred to Labor; enacting clause stricken   FISCAL IMPACT: None to the State.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act would take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
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A08935 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         8935--A
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 30, 2024
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON, ZINERMAN, OTIS, SHIMSKY, LUNSFORD, RAGA,
          STECK,  GIBBS, BURDICK, ARDILA, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, GLICK -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Labor -- recommitted to the Committee  on
          Labor  in  accordance  with  Assembly  Rule  3,  sec.  2  -- committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to regulating the temperature
          of all indoor and outdoor worksites
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  This  act shall be known and may be cited as the "temper-
     2  ature extreme mitigation program (TEMP) act".
     3    § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds and
     4  declares that New Yorkers, working both in outdoor and indoor sites, are
     5  exposed to extreme temperatures due to  climate  change.  This  involves
     6  skyrocketing  heat  in  the summer.   Every year, New York city has high
     7  numbers of heat-related emergency  department  visits,  hospital  admis-
     8  sions,  and  deaths. According to the New York City Office of the Mayor,
     9  each year there are an estimated 450 heat-related ED visits,  150  heat-
    10  related hospital admissions, 10 heat-stroke deaths, and 350 heat-exacer-
    11  bated deaths, caused by heat worsening existing chronic conditions.
    12    The legislature hereby finds and declares that the government is obli-
    13  gated to ensure that employers provide safe conditions for their employ-
    14  ees.
    15    §  3. The labor law is amended by adding a new article 20-D to read as
    16  follows:
    17                                ARTICLE 20-D
    18                     TEMPERATURE REGULATION BY EMPLOYERS
    19  Section 742. Scope.
    20          743. Definitions.
    21          744. Heat protection standards.
    22          745. Cold protection standards.
    23          746. Education and training.
    24          747. Enforcement.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04582-18-4

        A. 8935--A                          2
 
     1    § 742. Scope. 1. The following covered industries will be held to  the
     2  standards in this article:
     3    (a) Agriculture;
     4    (b)  Construction,  unless  the employer is party to a: (i) collective
     5  bargaining agreement or (ii) project labor agreement with  a  bona  fide
     6  building and construction trades council;
     7    (c) Landscaping;
     8    (d) Car wash service;
     9    (e) Commercial shipping;
    10    (f) Food service; and
    11    (g) Warehousing.
    12    2.  For the purposes of this article, outdoor worksites of the covered
    13  industries in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) of  subdivision  one  of
    14  this section shall be subject to the provisions herein. For the purposes
    15  of  this  article,  indoor  worksites of the covered industries in para-
    16  graphs (e), (f), and (g) of subdivision one of  this  section  shall  be
    17  subject to the provisions herein.
    18    §  743.  Definitions.  For the purposes of this article, the following
    19  terms shall have the following meanings:
    20    1. "Employee" means any person within  a  covered  industry  providing
    21  labor  or services within the scope of this article for remuneration for
    22  a public or private entity or business within the state,  without regard
    23  to an individual's immigration status, and shall  include,  but  not  be
    24  limited to,  part-time  workers,  independent contractors, day laborers,
    25  farmworkers  and    other temporary   and seasonal workers working in an
    26  industry identified in this article. The term shall also  include  indi-
    27  viduals  working for staffing agencies, contractors or subcontractors on
    28  behalf of the employer at any individual worksite, as   well   as    any
    29  individual  delivering  goods  or transporting people at, to or from the
    30  worksite on behalf of the employer, regardless of whether  delivery   or
    31  transport   is conducted by an individual or entity that would otherwise
    32  be deemed an employer under this article, or any person holding a  posi-
    33  tion  by  appointment  or employment in the service of a public employer
    34  within the scope of this article.
    35    2. "Employer" means any individual, partnership,  association,  corpo-
    36  ration, limited liability company, business trust, legal representative,
    37  public  entity,  or  any  organized  group  acting  as employer within a
    38  covered industry identified in this article.
    39    3. "Indoor worksite" means any enclosed work vehicles  and  any  space
    40  between  a  floor  and  a  ceiling  bound  on all sides by walls. A wall
    41  includes any door, window, retractable divider, garage  door,  or  other
    42  physical  barriers  that  is  temporary  or  permanent,  whether open or
    43  closed.
    44    4. "Outdoor worksite" means all employers  with  employees  performing
    45  work in an outdoor environment. The term outdoor worksite does not apply
    46  to  incidental  exposure,  which  exists when an employee is required to
    47  perform a work activity outdoors for not longer than fifteen minutes  in
    48  any sixty-minute period.
    49    5.  "Heat stress threshold" means a heat stress threshold of eighty or
    50  more degrees Fahrenheit.  For the purposes of indoor  temperature  regu-
    51  lated  environments,  the  indoor  temperature shall fall between sixty-
    52  eight and seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit, to the extent practicable.
    53    6. "Heat illness" means a serious medical condition resulting from the
    54  body's inability to cope with extreme heat  temperature  stress  thresh-
    55  olds, and includes, but is not limited to, heat cramps, heat exhaustion,
    56  heat syncope, and heat stroke.

        A. 8935--A                          3
 
     1    7.  "Cold  stress  threshold"  means  a threshold temperature of sixty
     2  degrees Fahrenheit or below.   For the purposes  of  indoor  temperature
     3  regulated  environments,  the  indoor  temperature  shall  fall  between
     4  sixty-eight and seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit, to the extent practica-
     5  ble.
     6    8. "Cold illness" means a serious medical condition resulting from the
     7  body's inability to cope with extreme cold stress thresholds.
     8    9.  "Personal  protective  equipment"  or  "PPE"  means  the necessary
     9  protective equipment, gear, and uniforms to withstand extreme heat at or
    10  exceeding the heat stress thresholds.
    11    § 744. Heat protection standards.   The  employer  shall  fulfill  the
    12  following  requirements when employees are in an outdoor or indoor work-
    13  site and experiencing conditions at or exceeding a heat  stress  thresh-
    14  old:
    15    1.  Access  to hydration. The employer shall provide access to potable
    16  drinking water from a sanitary source and kept at sixty degrees or cool-
    17  er at no cost to the employee.  The water shall be located as  close  as
    18  practicable  to,  but  no more than a quarter mile from, the areas where
    19  employees are working. Water shall be provided at the beginning  of  the
    20  work  shift  to provide one quart per employee per hour for drinking for
    21  the entire shift; provided, however, that  an  employer  may  begin  the
    22  shift with smaller quantities of water where such employer has effective
    23  procedures for replenishment during the shift as needed to allow employ-
    24  ees to drink one quart or more per hour.
    25    2.  Medical monitoring.   Employers shall closely monitor temperatures
    26  and implement their workplace heat stress plan. If an employee  exhibits
    27  signs  or  reports  symptoms of heat illness while taking a preventative
    28  break pursuant to subdivision four of this  section,  or  at  any  other
    29  time,  the employer shall make a reasonable effort to provide the worker
    30  with access to first aid or other treatment.
    31    3. Access to shade.  (a) With respect to outdoor sites, shade shall be
    32  made available while employees are present when the temperature  exceeds
    33  eighty  degrees  Fahrenheit  and  shall  be  as close to the worksite as
    34  reasonably possible. When the  outdoor  temperature  in  the  work  area
    35  exceeds  eighty degrees Fahrenheit, the employer shall have and maintain
    36  one or more areas with shade at all times while  employees  are  present
    37  that are either open to the air or provided with ventilation or cooling.
    38  The  amount of shade present shall be at least enough to accommodate the
    39  number of employees on preventative breaks, so that they can  sit  in  a
    40  normal  posture  fully  in  the shade with at least four square feet per
    41  resting employee.
    42    (b) Where the employer can demonstrate that it is infeasible or unsafe
    43  to have a shade structure, or otherwise  to  have  shade  present  on  a
    44  continuous  basis,  the  employer may utilize alternative procedures for
    45  providing access to shade if the alternative procedures  provide  equiv-
    46  alent protection.
    47    4.  Preventative breaks. (a) Employees shall be allowed and encouraged
    48  to take paid preventative breaks  when  they  feel  the  onset  of  heat
    49  illness. Employees shall notify their employer as soon as possible about
    50  such  onset and a preventative break shall be offered to such employees.
    51  Such preventative break may include access  to  shade.    An  individual
    52  employee who takes a preventative break:
    53    (i)  Shall be monitored and asked if they are experiencing symptoms of
    54  heat illness;
    55    (ii) Shall be encouraged to remain  in  the  shade,  where  applicable
    56  under subdivision three of this section; and

        A. 8935--A                          4
 
     1    (iii) Shall not be ordered back to work until any signs or symptoms of
     2  heat  illness  have  abated,  but in no event, less than five minutes in
     3  addition to the time needed to access shade where applicable.
     4    (b)  With  respect  to outdoor sites, where the temperature reaches or
     5  exceeds ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit, the  employer  shall  allow  and
     6  encourage  employees to take a minimum ten minute preventative cool-down
     7  rest period every two hours.
     8    (c) Preventative breaks shall not affect any job quota set by  employ-
     9  ers;  such  quotas  shall  be  adjusted  to accommodate for preventative
    10  breaks and no employee shall be faced with unlawful retaliation,  pursu-
    11  ant to section seven hundred forty-seven of this article, as a result of
    12  diminished job quotas.
    13    5.  Personal  protective equipment. Employers shall provide the neces-
    14  sary protective equipment, gear, and uniforms to withstand  temperatures
    15  at  or  exceeding  the heat stress thresholds to the extent practicable.
    16  This may include, but is not limited to:
    17    (a) Fans, if possible;
    18    (b) Air-conditioning, which shall be mandated in all delivery vehicles
    19  and warehouses in an industry identified in this article; and
    20    (c) Anything additional deemed necessary by the department  to  combat
    21  extreme heat.
    22    6.  Vehicle  standards. Employees who spend more than sixty minutes in
    23  workplace or employer provided vehicles each day or  whose  worksite  is
    24  considered  an  employer provided vehicle shall have adequate air-condi-
    25  tioning available inside such vehicle.
    26    § 745. Cold protection  standards.  The  employer  shall  fulfill  the
    27  following  requirements when employees are in an outdoor or indoor work-
    28  site  and  experiencing conditions at or exceeding a cold stress thresh-
    29  old:
    30    1. Access to hydration. The employer shall provide access  to  potable
    31  drinking water from a sanitary source and kept at sixty degrees or cool-
    32  er  at  no  cost to the employee. The water shall be located as close as
    33  practicable to, but no more than a quarter mile from,  the  areas  where
    34  employees  are  working. Water shall be provided at the beginning of the
    35  work shift to provide one quart per employee per hour for  drinking  for
    36  the  entire  shift;  provided,  however,  that an employer may begin the
    37  shift with smaller quantities of water where such employer has effective
    38  procedures for replenishment during the shift as needed to allow employ-
    39  ees to drink one quart or more per hour.
    40    2. Medical monitoring. Employers shall  closely  monitor  temperatures
    41  and  implement their workplace cold stress plan. If an employee exhibits
    42  signs or reports symptoms of cold illness while  taking  a  preventative
    43  break  pursuant  to  subdivision  four  of this section, or at any other
    44  time, the employer shall make a reasonable effort to provide the  worker
    45  with access to first aid or other treatment.
    46    3.  Access  to  warmth.  (a)  With  respect to outdoor sites, a heated
    47  indoor area shall be made available while employees are present when the
    48  temperature is sixty degrees Fahrenheit or  below.  The  temperature  of
    49  such  heated indoor area shall fall between sixty-eight and seventy-five
    50  degrees Fahrenheit and shall be  as close to the worksite as  reasonably
    51  possible.  The  heated  indoor  area  shall  be at least large enough to
    52  accommodate the number of employees on preventative breaks, so that they
    53  can sit in a normal posture fully in the  heated  indoor  area  with  at
    54  least four square feet per resting employee.
    55    (b) Where the employer can demonstrate that it is infeasible or unsafe
    56  to  have a heated indoor area, or otherwise to have a heated area avail-

        A. 8935--A                          5
 
     1  able on a continuous basis, the employer may utilize alternative  proce-
     2  dures  for  providing    access  to warmth if the alternative procedures
     3  provide equivalent protection.
     4    4.  Preventative breaks. (a) Employees shall be allowed and encouraged
     5  to take paid preventative breaks  when  they  feel  the  onset  of  cold
     6  illness. Employees shall notify their employer as soon as possible about
     7  such  onset and a preventative break shall be offered to such employees.
     8  Such preventative break may include  access  to  warmth.  An  individual
     9  employee who takes a preventative break:
    10    (i)  Shall be monitored and asked if they are experiencing symptoms of
    11  cold illness;
    12    (ii) Shall be encouraged to remain in  the  warmth,  where  applicable
    13  under subdivision three of this section; and
    14    (iii) Shall not be ordered back to work until any signs or symptoms of
    15  cold  illness  have  abated,  but in no event, less than five minutes in
    16  addition to the time needed to access warmth where applicable.
    17    (b) With respect to outdoor sites, where the temperature reaches below
    18  twenty degrees  Fahrenheit,  the  employer  shall  allow  and  encourage
    19  employees  to  take  a minimum ten minute preventative rest period every
    20  two hours.
    21    (c) Preventative breaks shall not affect any job quota set by  employ-
    22  ers;  such  quotas  shall  be  adjusted  to accommodate for preventative
    23  breaks and no employee shall be faced with unlawful retaliation,  pursu-
    24  ant to section seven hundred forty-seven of this article, as a result of
    25  diminished job quotas.
    26    5.  Personal  protective equipment. Employers shall provide the neces-
    27  sary protective equipment, gear, and uniforms to withstand  temperatures
    28  at  or  below the cold stress thresholds to the extent practicable. This
    29  may include, but is not limited to:
    30    (a) Heating systems, which shall be mandated in all delivery  vehicles
    31  and warehouses in an industry identified in this article; and
    32    (b)  Anything  additional deemed necessary by the department to combat
    33  extreme cold.
    34    6. Vehicle standards. Employees who spend more than sixty  minutes  in
    35  workplace  or  employer  provided vehicles each day or whose worksite is
    36  considered an employer provided vehicle shall have an  adequate  heating
    37  system available inside such vehicle.
    38    §  746.  Education  and  training.  1.  Training. The department shall
    39  create a training curriculum outlining the signs of heat illness and the
    40  available medical responses. Such training shall be administered by  the
    41  employer  at  time of hiring or the employee's training fund if a member
    42  of organized labor.
    43    2. Mandated signage and materials.  The  department  shall  promulgate
    44  signage and educational materials that are required to be made available
    45  to  employees  by  their  employer  in  the twelve most common languages
    46  spoken in the state regarding the following:
    47    (a) Signs of heat illness;
    48    (b) Heat stress thresholds;
    49    (c) Employer required protections from heat stress thresholds;
    50    (d) Where employees can report an employer's  lack  of  accommodation;
    51  and
    52    (e) Anything else deemed necessary by the department.
    53    3.  Unlawful  retaliation.    For  the purposes of this article, there
    54  shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer
    55  in any manner discriminates, retaliates, or  takes  any  adverse  action

        A. 8935--A                          6
 
     1  against any employee within ninety days of  the  employee  initiating  a
     2  complaint pursuant to this article.
     3    4.  Outreach  campaign.    The  department shall establish a statewide
     4  outreach campaign to educate employees on  the  heat  illness  standards
     5  established  and  ensure  that  employers are providing access to proper
     6  signage and materials.
     7    § 747. Enforcement. The department shall promulgate  rules  and  regu-
     8  lations to require the following:
     9    1.  Every  employer  in  a covered industry shall collect and maintain
    10  data and records as required  by  the  department  on  all  heat-related
    11  illnesses and fatalities which occur at an outdoor or indoor worksite.
    12    2.  Every  employer  in a covered industry shall submit reports of the
    13  data collected pursuant to subdivision one of this section  annually  to
    14  the  department and such reports shall be published by the department on
    15  a searchable database. Employers shall make such  reports  available  to
    16  any  employee  or  applicable labor organization upon request within ten
    17  business days. An extreme heat-related fatality on a  construction  site
    18  shall  be  deemed  a  work-related  injury for the purposes of reporting
    19  pursuant to section forty-four of this chapter.
    20    3. Every employer in a covered industry shall submit  for  approval  a
    21  written plan on how heat-related stress will be mitigated to the depart-
    22  ment.  Once  approved  by the department, an employer shall provide such
    23  plan to all employees and applicable labor organizations  on  an  annual
    24  basis.
    25    4.  Every employer in a covered industry shall be subject to fines for
    26  not adhering to  the  mandatory  reporting  and  enforcement  protocols.
    27  Employers  shall  be  required  to  pay  penalties of no less than fifty
    28  dollars per day for failing to implement heat  protection  standards  as
    29  set  forth  in this article.  The department shall administer notice and
    30  collect all fines.
    31    5. The department shall establish a worker hotline and an online  form
    32  where  employees  can file complaints with the department regarding heat
    33  protection standards.
    34    6. Any other reporting or enforcement protocols  necessary  to  ensure
    35  the protection of workers.
    36    §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    37  have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
    38  repeal of any rule or regulation   necessary for the  implementation  of
    39  this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
    40  on or before such effective date.
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