Bill Text: NY A03527 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: 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.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 23-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-28 - referred to labor [A03527 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-A03527-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3527 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 28, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON, ZINERMAN, OTIS, SHIMSKY, LUNSFORD, RAGA, STECK, GIBBS, BURDICK, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, GLICK, DILAN, HEVESI, REYES, KELLES, SEPTIMO, CLARK, SHRESTHA, COLTON, ANDERSON, ROSENTHAL, LUCAS, FORREST -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor 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. This involves skyrocketing heat in the 6 summer. Every year, New York city has high numbers of heat-related 7 emergency department visits, hospital admissions, and deaths. According 8 to the New York City Office of the Mayor, each year there are an esti- 9 mated 450 heat-related ED visits, 150 heat-related hospital admissions, 10 10 heat-stroke deaths, and 350 heat-exacerbated deaths, caused by heat 11 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. Education and training. 23 746. Enforcement. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05471-02-5A. 3527 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, including food retail workers whose jobs require 11 regular outdoor work, or exposure to outside temperatures in back and 12 storage rooms where deliveries are received; 13 (g) Warehousing; 14 (h) Transport service, including but not limited to airport service 15 work, ramp, cargo, tarmac maintenance workers, and commuter rail line 16 service; and 17 (i) Building service work. 18 2. For the purposes of this article, outdoor worksites of the covered 19 industries in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (f), and (h) of subdivision 20 one of this section shall be subject to the provisions herein. For the 21 purposes of this article, indoor worksites of the covered industries in 22 paragraphs (e), (f), (g) and (i) of subdivision one of this section 23 shall be subject to the provisions herein. 24 § 743. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following 25 terms shall have the following meanings: 26 1. "Employee" means any person within a covered industry providing 27 labor or services for remuneration for a public or private entity or 28 business within the state, without regard to an individual's immi- 29 gration status, and shall include, but not be limited to, part-time 30 workers, workers classified as independent contractors, day laborers, 31 agricultural workers and other temporary and seasonal workers. The 32 term shall also include individuals working for staffing agencies, 33 contractors or subcontractors on behalf of the employer at any individ- 34 ual worksite, as well as any individual delivering goods or trans- 35 porting people at, to or from the worksite on behalf of the employer, 36 regardless of whether delivery or transport is conducted by an indi- 37 vidual or entity that would otherwise be deemed an employer under this 38 article, or any person holding a position by appointment or employment 39 in the service of a public employer within the scope of this article. 40 2. "Employer" means any individual, partnership, association, corpo- 41 ration, limited liability company, business trust, legal representative, 42 public entity, or any organized group acting as employer within a 43 covered industry identified in this article. 44 3. "Indoor worksite" means any enclosed work vehicles and any space 45 between a floor and a ceiling bound on all sides by walls. A wall 46 includes any door, window, retractable divider, garage door, or other 47 physical barriers that is temporary or permanent, whether open or 48 closed. 49 4. "Outdoor worksite" means all employers with employees performing 50 work in an outdoor environment including work on a loading dock with an 51 overhead covering and open sides. The term outdoor worksite does not 52 apply to incidental exposure, which exists when an employee is required 53 to perform a work activity outdoors for not longer than fifteen minutes 54 in any sixty-minute period. 55 5. "Heat stress threshold" means a heat stress threshold of eighty or 56 more degrees Fahrenheit. For the purposes of indoor temperature regu-A. 3527 3 1 lated environments, the indoor temperature shall fall between sixty- 2 eight and seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit, to the extent practicable. 3 6. "Heat illness" means a serious medical condition resulting from the 4 body's inability to cope with extreme heat temperature stress thresh- 5 olds, and includes, but is not limited to, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, 6 heat syncope, and heat stroke. 7 7. "Personal protective equipment" or "PPE" means the necessary 8 protective equipment, gear, and uniforms to withstand extreme heat at or 9 exceeding the heat stress thresholds. 10 § 744. Heat protection standards. The employer shall fulfill the 11 following requirements when employees are in an outdoor or indoor work- 12 site and experiencing conditions at or exceeding a heat stress thresh- 13 old: 14 1. Access to hydration. The employer shall provide access to potable 15 drinking water at no cost to the employee. The water shall be located 16 as close as practicable to the areas where employees are working. Water 17 shall be provided at the beginning of the work shift to provide one 18 quart per employee per hour for drinking for the entire shift; provided, 19 however, that an employer may begin the shift with smaller quantities of 20 water where such employer has effective procedures for replenishment 21 during the shift as needed to allow employees to drink one quart or more 22 per hour. 23 2. Medical monitoring. Employers shall closely monitor temperatures 24 and implement their workplace heat stress plan. If an employee exhibits 25 signs or reports symptoms of heat illness while taking a preventative 26 break pursuant to subdivision four of this section, or at any other 27 time, the employer shall make a reasonable effort to provide the worker 28 with access to first aid or other treatment. 29 3. Access to shade. (a) With respect to outdoor sites, shade shall be 30 made available while employees are present when the temperature exceeds 31 eighty degrees Fahrenheit and shall be as close to the worksite as 32 reasonably possible. When the outdoor temperature in the work area 33 exceeds eighty degrees Fahrenheit, the employer shall have and maintain 34 one or more areas with shade at all times while employees are present 35 that are either open to the air or provided with ventilation or cooling. 36 The amount of shade present shall be at least enough to accommodate the 37 number of employees on preventative breaks, so that they can sit in a 38 normal posture fully in the shade with at least four square feet per 39 resting employee. 40 (b) Where the employer can demonstrate that it is infeasible or unsafe 41 to have a shade structure, or otherwise to have shade present on a 42 continuous basis, the employer may utilize alternative procedures for 43 providing access to shade if the alternative procedures provide equiv- 44 alent protection. 45 4. Preventative breaks. (a) Employees shall be allowed and encouraged 46 to take paid preventative breaks when they feel the onset of heat 47 illness. Employees shall notify their employer as soon as possible about 48 such onset and a preventative break shall be offered to such employees. 49 Such preventative break may include access to shade. An individual 50 employee who takes a preventative break: 51 (i) Shall be monitored and asked if they are experiencing symptoms of 52 heat illness; 53 (ii) Shall be encouraged to remain in the shade, where applicable 54 under subdivision three of this section; andA. 3527 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 5. Personal protective equipment. Employers shall provide the neces- 9 sary protective equipment, gear, and uniforms to withstand temperatures 10 at or exceeding the heat stress thresholds to the extent practicable. 11 This may include, but is not limited to: 12 (a) Fans, if possible; 13 (b) Air-conditioning, which shall be mandated in all delivery vehicles 14 and warehouses in an industry identified in this article; and 15 (c) Anything additional deemed necessary by the department to combat 16 extreme heat. 17 6. Vehicle standards. Employees who spend more than sixty minutes in 18 workplace or employer provided vehicles each day or whose worksite is 19 considered an employer provided vehicle shall have adequate air-condi- 20 tioning available inside such vehicle, provided however that agricul- 21 tural machinery including tractors, seeders, and harvesting equipment 22 shall be exempt from this provision unless otherwise determined by the 23 commissioner. 24 § 745. Education and training. 1. Training. The department shall 25 create a training curriculum outlining the signs of heat illness and the 26 available medical responses. Such training shall be administered by the 27 employer at time of hiring or the employee's training fund if a member 28 of organized labor. 29 2. Mandated signage and materials. The department shall promulgate 30 signage and educational materials that are required to be made available 31 to employees by their employer in the twelve most common languages 32 spoken in the state regarding the following: 33 (a) Signs of heat illness; 34 (b) Heat stress thresholds; 35 (c) Employer required protections from heat stress thresholds; 36 (d) Where employees can report an employer's lack of accommodation; 37 and 38 (e) Anything else deemed necessary by the department. 39 3. Unlawful retaliation. For the purposes of this article, there 40 shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation if an employer 41 in any manner discriminates, retaliates, or takes any adverse action 42 against any employee within ninety days of the employee initiating a 43 complaint pursuant to this article. 44 4. Outreach campaign. The department shall establish a statewide 45 outreach campaign to educate employees on the heat illness standards 46 established and ensure that employers are providing access to proper 47 signage and materials. 48 § 746. Enforcement. The department shall promulgate rules and regu- 49 lations to require the following: 50 1. Every employer in a covered industry shall establish, maintain, and 51 preserve for three years contemporaneous, true, and accurate records on 52 all heat-related illnesses and fatalities which occur at an outdoor or 53 indoor worksite to ensure compliance with commissioner requests for 54 data. 55 2. Every employer in a covered industry shall develop a written plan 56 on how heat-related stress will be mitigated. An employer shall provideA. 3527 5 1 such plan to all employees and applicable labor organizations on an 2 annual basis. 3 3. Every employer in a covered industry shall be required to pay 4 penalties of no less than fifty dollars per day for failing to implement 5 heat protection standards as set forth in this article. The department 6 shall administer notice and collect all fines. 7 4. The department shall establish a worker hotline and an online form 8 where employees can file complaints with the department regarding heat 9 protection standards. 10 5. Any other reporting or enforcement protocols necessary to ensure 11 the protection of workers. 12 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 13 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 14 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 15 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 16 on or before such effective date.
