He Florida Senate gave the green light to legislative project 1492, which Prohibits cities and counties from taking action on mandatory water breaks for workers and other labor protections against extreme heat.
According to the document, employees who report problems related to excessive exposure to heat will not be protected, training programs on the consequences associated with the meteorological phenomenon will not be carried out, nor will records associated with exposure to high temperatures be required to be maintained.
And NBC News report He specified that the Senate, controlled by Republicans, approved the bill with 28 votes in favor and 11 against.
The House is expected to approve the bill before it goes to the governor Ron DeSantis. If it becomes law, it would come into force on July 1.
Its supporters say that this will help establish uniform regulations and ensure that measures are not applied inconsistently throughout the state.
At the other end are union organizations advocating workplace heat standards as a necessary way to keep people safe, especially those who remain outdoors, such as construction workers and farmers.
The concerns of the latter come because 2023 It was recorded as the hottest year in history.
Almost all of the southern United States last summer suffered entire weeks of oppressive high temperatures and humidityand climate scientists believe the waves were intensified by global warming.
Las heat waves They cause more deaths in the United States each year than any other weather phenomenon, according to the National Weather Service, and outdoor workers are the most vulnerable.
Similar legislation passed in Texas in 2023under a state law that prohibited local governments from, among other things, establishing ordinances on mandatory water breaks and shade time for outdoor workers.
Under state law, businesses would be governed by general standards established by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
This government agency recognizes extreme heat as a workplace hazard, however it has not published specific federal standards to protect workers from dangerously high temperatures.
A journalistic report indicated that since 2020 five Florida employers have been fined by OSHA after their workers died from heat illnesses.
According to OSHA, these deaths could have been prevented if employers had followed “established safety practices with respect to heat-related hazards.”
Four other employers were also fined after workers at their companies were hospitalized with heat-related illnesses, some with acute kidney failure.
