{"id":6932,"date":"2012-10-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/articles\/heat-stress-and-the-general-duty-clause\/"},"modified":"2012-10-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-10-01T00:00:00","slug":"heat-stress-and-the-general-duty-clause","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/articles\/heat-stress-and-the-general-duty-clause\/","title":{"rendered":"Heat Stress and the General Duty Clause"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the heat of summer
\ncontinues, a recently published decision of the Occupational Safety and Health
\nReview Commission (OSHRC) bears discussion. In Secretary of Labor v. Post
\nBuckley Schuh & Jernigan, Inc. (PBSJ), OSHRC Docket No. 10-2587, Judge
\nPatrick B. Augustine affirmed a serious citation against the employer for a
\nviolation of the “General Duty Clause” (Section 5(a)(1)) of the Occupational
\nSafety and Health Act of 1970.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Much has been said about heat stress as a significant safety
\nissue, yet many employers give it only passing treatment. Most employers put
\ncold water on job sites and tell their employees to keep hydrated. Some
\nemployers go so far as to require employees to take periodic rest breaks, and
\nsome even have those breaks taken in a cool environment. In light of the recent
\ndecision, however, this is one time when a little attention is clearly not
\nenough.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is no OSHA standard addressing the
\nhazard of heat stress. OSHA’s enforcement option for such a case is through the
\nGeneral Duty Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act; so when OSHA
\ndoes a compliance inspection and concludes that the employer is not providing a
\nsafe place of employment because of the potential for heat-related illnesses,
\nit must cite the employer under the General Duty Clause.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

As you already know, the General Duty Clause requires
\nemployers to provide a place of employment that is free of recognized hazards
\nthat are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm. To
\nprove a violation, OSHA must provide evidence demonstrating these key
\ncomponents of the General Duty Clause. In this case, the element of proof wou<\/a>ld be that the potential heat stress is a hazard that is
\nrecognized either by the employer or its industry and that it is causing or
\nlikely to cause death or serious physical harm.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, where does this leave the employer?
\nJudge Augustine’s decision seems to conclude that if you have taken any steps
\nto address the heat stress issue, you have recognized heat stress as a Section
\n5(a)(1) hazard. The judge took what the employer in this case did to address
\nthe heat stress hazard and compared it with the heat stress management program
\nrecommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s
\n(NIOSH) publication Working In Hot Environments.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

The NIOSH document recommends a program that includes, but is
\nnot limited to, the following elements:<\/span><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0 Acclimatize employees beginning
\nwork in a hot environment and those employees who have been absent from the hot
\nenvironment for more than 3 days.<\/span><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0 Develop a work\/rest regimen. In
\nthe reported case, the judge felt that the employer’s heat safety program was
\ndeficient because it did not have a work\/rest regimen; rather, it depended on
\nemployees asking for breaks. (How many of you take this approach?)<\/span><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0 Provide cool water and encourage
\nemployees to drink 5 to 7 ounces of fluid every 15 to 20 minutes. In the
\nreported case, the employer provided ice and water and instructions to be sure to
\n“drink lots of water.” The judge found this to be deficient because it did not
\nencourage employees to drink 5 to 7 ounces of water every 15 to 30 minutes.
\n(Sound familiar?)<\/span><\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0 Provide for a cool rest area. The
\nemployer should have a rest area close to the worksite that has a temperature
\nmaintained at approximately 76\u00b0F. The judge concluded that to permit employees
\nto go to their vehicles?about a 15-minute walk away?to sit with the air
\nconditioners on was not adequate. A question was raised as to whether an
\nemployee suffering from heat issues would be able to walk 15 minutes to get to
\na cool place.<\/span><\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0 Provide training to employees
\nregarding the health effects associated with heat stress, symptoms of
\nheat-related illnesses, and the methods of prevention. Again, the judge
\nconcluded that the employer’s program was deficient because its training
\nprogram did not address the health effects of heat-related illnesses or how to
\nprevent those illnesses. <\/span><\/p>\n

Another point NIOSH may be contemplating
\nis advising that employees be screened for underlying physical conditions that
\ncould be aggravated by exposure to a hot work environment. Because the NIOSH
\ndocument did not recommend a screening, however, the judge did not find a
\ndeficiency on this item. I caution readers who approach this criterion with an
\neye toward compliance to be aware of the many other laws, such as the Americans
\nwith Disabilities Act, which make it difficult for an employer to legally
\nobtain this information.<\/span><\/p>\n

The message from the PBSJ decision is
\nthat while heat stress and its related illnesses might not be governed by a
\nspecific safety standard, it is taken seriously by OSHA and needs to be taken
\nvery seriously by all employers. You need to have a program covering heat
\nstress or working in a hot environment, and it needs to be more than a reminder
\nto employees to stay cool, drink plenty of fluids, and ask to take a rest if
\nthey begin to feel bad. You need to model your program around at least the five
\nguidelines in the NIOSH document. Remember, for many employers, hot weather
\nwill be around for the next 2 to 3 months.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the heat of summer continues, a recently published decision of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) bears discussion. In Secretary of Labor v. Post Buckley Schuh & Jernigan, Inc. (PBSJ), OSHRC Docket No. 10-2587, Judge Patrick B. Augustine affirmed a serious citation against the employer for a violation of the “General Duty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[44],"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[289,24,21],"class_list":["post-6932","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","category-personnel-protection","category-contracting","category-business-managment","author-gary-auman"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHeat Stress and the General Duty Clause - Insulation Outlook Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/articles\/heat-stress-and-the-general-duty-clause\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Heat Stress and the General Duty Clause\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the heat of summer continues, a recently published decision of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) bears discussion. 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