Federal workplace rules shift to combat heat exposure

Nevada Public Radio | By Yvette Fernandez

Published May 19, 2026 at 3:40 PM MDT

FILE - In this July 6, 2010 file photo, a construction worker is backlit from the morning sun while working on a roof in the heat in Chapel Hill, N.C. as temperatures inched into at least the 90s from Maine to Texas and into the Southwest and Death Valley, the mid-Atlantic is embarking on a string of intensely hot days, with temperatures in some places closing in on 100-plus degrees. The combination of global warming and people moving south and west means that by mid-century four to six times more Americans will be sweating through days with extreme heat than just 15 years ago, a new study says. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

Two Mountain West states have crafted their own standards to protect workers from extreme heat. Meanwhile, the federal government is shifting workplace strategy on heat mitigation.

In April, the Trump administration made changes to the National Emphasis Program, directing federal inspectors to focus their efforts and outreach in workplaces where heat stress risks are most likely. However, the changes also remove the set number of inspections that need to be done.

There is no federal standard for heat protection. Federal Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) officials do conduct random inspections in high-risk industries when the National Weather Service issues advisories or warnings. However, every state has different goals and regulations.

Nevada's plan requires employers to develop a written safety plan, with mandatory risk assessments. Colorado has proposed goals to mitigate workplace heat exposure.

Victoria Carreon is the director of the Division of Industrial Relations in Nevada, which oversees the state's OSHA program. Nevada's state plan went into effect last summer. It tracked more than 400 complaints and conducted 189 workplace inspections.

"When you look at the highest percentage of complaints by industry, you'll see that it's in the accommodation and food services industry and then retail is second and transportation is third," Carreon said.

Some situations, like kitchens, are simply hotter and require a broader effort. Carreon added: "And in that kitchen there's a lot of heat coming from the stovetop and the ovens, etc. So you may have air conditioning in that setting but it may not be sufficient to cool the environment."

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.