By Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
Broward Democratic Rep. Michael Gottlieb has filed legislation to require employers to provide shade and drinking water to outdoor workers, although the Florida Legislature passed a law last year prohibiting local governments from enacting such protections.
This is the third time Gottlieb has tried to pass legislation protecting workers from heat-related illnesses. In the last two years, his efforts have stalled at the first committee hearing.
However, heat protections took a central role in Tallahassee earlier this year as Republicans pushed for passage of HB 433, which barred local governments from regulating workplace heat exposure as the Miami-Dade County Commission considered such protections. While the move garnered criticism from environmental, faith, and progressive groups, it had the backing of business lobbies.
Gottlieb’s bill, HB 35, would require employers to provide drinking water and 10-minute breaks every two hours when the heat index reaches 90 degrees. In June, Florida ranked second among the states for the most 911 calls for heat-related incidents, according to a federal database.
“There has been bipartisan support in the past to enact the most basic protections for Florida’s workers and businesses, including education and training programs on heat illness prevention, access to water and shade, and short breaks throughout hot days,” Gottlieb wrote to the Florida Phoenix.
“This bill follows in the same bipartisan model. Many Florida businesses are already doing this and more, and this bill will level the playing field for all businesses. A small number of influential business owners are concerned that these basic steps go too far, and they have succeeded in not only blocking statewide standards but also barring local governments from taking action on this growing problem.
“It is time to act, and this bill simply creates safety measures that should be in place, creating common sense worker protections that increase productivity, and help decrease insurance premiums or public hospital visits.”
When lawmakers voted to block heat protections, Republicans argued that those kinds of regulations fell under the jurisdiction of OSHA (the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration), and the law gives the agency until 2028 to come up with any protections before the Florida Department of Commerce would create statewide rules on workplace heat exposure.
The Biden administration announced in July a proposed rule to prevent heat-related illness in the workplace, which requires employees to take 15-minute breaks every two hours. But OSHA has delayed the period for submitting comments on the rule until Jan. 14, after President-elect Donald Trump assumes office again.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Banner image: A farmworker labors in the sun (iStock image).
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