Employment: heat illness prevention.

Existing law permits the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board within the Department of Industrial Relations to adopt occupational health and safety standards to protect the welfare of employees, and existing regulations provide for the prevention of heat-related illness of employees, as prescribed. Under existing law, it is a misdemeanor for an employer to violate a safety standard if the violation has a substantial probability of resulting in death or serious physical harm. This bill would incorporate certain of these regulatory provisions into statute. The bill would additionally specify requirements for employers to provide employees access to shade when the temperature exceeds 75 degrees Fahrenheit and to implement designated high-heat and extreme-heat procedures when the temperature equals or exceeds 85 or 95 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. The bill would prohibit an employer from allowing an employee or a supervisor to engage in outdoor work without receiving training on specified topics and would require the employer to designate a person to ensure that emergency procedures are invoked when appropriate. Because this bill would specify additional safety standards, the violation of which would be a misdemeanor, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.