JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A new state law bans local heat protections for outdoor workers.
House Bill 433, or the Employment Regulation Bill, goes into effect July 1. It prevents city and county governments from establishing heat exposure requirements that are not already required by state or federal law.
The problem, some say, is that Florida doesn’t have a statewide standard for heat protection for outdoor workers.
Northeast Florida is under an excessive heat advisory right now. That means outdoor workers need to take extreme caution to avoid heat exhaustion. Shade and water breaks are something that some employers factor into their workday — but not all.
As a local contractor, Mitch McCue understands the intensity of working outside in the Florida sun.
“It’s important to understand somebody being on a roof or whether you’re framing a home in our industry, there is no shade. Commonly, you’ll see a lot of our guys taking a nap or, you know, laying down, you know, during lunchtime for a long period of time, maybe an hour. So we support that. Anytime someone feels like they need to take a break. We support that,” he said.
From roofers to landscapers to farmworkers, millions of Floridians have jobs keeping them out in the heat.
Federal laws under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) already issue fines for unsafe working conditions, including violations related to heat.
McCue would support a more specific federal or state regulation.
“Some of these laws, the heat protection laws are a little bit kind of all over the place, I think, from municipalities to OSHA, and all that,” McCue said.
For years, the Farmworker Association of Florida has advocated for rules to protect workers from the heat, including paid rest breaks and access to water and shade.
“We’ve been trying to get legislation passed for about seven years, the bills die in committee. Not only are they not passing legislation, they’re passing legislation that makes it illegal. It’s unconscionable, unconscionable, inhumane, cruel,” said Ernesto Ruiz, Research Coordinator for the Farmworker Association of Florida.
After Florida recorded its hottest-ever July and August last year, Miami-Dade Commissioners were considering a proposal requiring shade and water for construction and farm workers for 10 minutes every two hours. That was pulled after the statewide bill was passed in March.
Ruiz says that is one example of how House Bill 433 is a huge setback for outdoor workers.
“It’s asinine, it’s cruel, and it shows once more that our state government at least is completely beholden to corporate interests. They do not care about working people. They do not care about the working class,” Ruiz said.
Because there are no existing heat protection mandates in the state of Florida, the new law really changes nothing come July 1.
Ruiz said the law does prevent change which is a big concern for the farmworker association with hundreds of heat-related deaths recorded in the last decade.