Rep. Chu Praises President’s Historic Actions to Protect Workers from Extreme Heat

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to establish a federal standard for heat stress protections against occupational exposure to high temperatures and heat exposure.

Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), author of the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Actthat would codify heat stress protections into federal law, released the following statement:

“Today, the Biden-Harris Administration took a historic leap forward in adopting a federal standard to give workers the same protections Californians already enjoy against extreme heat, which have had profound impacts and saved lives. As we enter yet another dangerously hot summer, and as MAGA governors in Florida and Texas block any meaningful action at the local level to protect workers in their states from on-the-job risks from heat, President Biden and Acting Secretary Su are putting workers’ health and safety first by proposing a federal baseline of protections from heat.

“When I was serving in the State Assembly in 2004, Asunción Valdivia died from a heat stroke after picking grapes in California in 105-degree temperatures for 10 hours. Whether on a farm, driving a truck, or working in a warehouse, workers like Asunción keep our country running while enduring some of the most difficult conditions—often without access to water, shade, or rest. Since his tragically preventable death, I worked first to successfully implement a first-of-its-kind heat standard in California, and now I’m working to pass similar protections at the federal level.

“In 2021, I led a letter with Ranking Member Bobby Scott and Reps. Raúl Grijalva and Alma Adams to OSHA urging adoption of a federal heat standard for workers, and I am grateful to the Biden-Harris Administration for undertaking today’s historic action. This is a major milestone, but Congress must still pass my bipartisan Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act to give workers certainty that, as the climate crisis worsens extreme heat conditions, federal heat stress protections will be permanent.”