Workplace Strategies for Hot Weather Safety

Revised 6/24/24

Basic hot weather safety strategies need to be in place to protect workers as the temperature rises. It is important to make sure that safety strategies and protocols are in place at work sites and workers know how to protect themselves.

Hot Weather Safety Strategies Include:

• Being trained on how to recognize a heat-related medical emergency (heat stroke).

• Having a clearly written protocol on how to respond to a medical emergency.

  • The protocol for all shifts should include information about who is authorized to call an ambulance, how to call for an ambulance, and what to do while waiting for emergency medical care. This protocol should be translated into the commonly spoken languages in the facility and posted throughout the workplace.

• Ensuring that workers have access to drinking water as needed and the right to access bathrooms as needed.

  • This is important because some workers hold back on drinking water so that they can put off using the restroom. This is never a good idea and can have serious consequences during hot weather.

• Monitoring particularly hot and humid work areas.

  • This should be done with a device that measures both heat and humidity and combines these measurements to provide the heat index. The company should have a plan for additional rest breaks or means of cooling the work area whenever the heat index approaches the “extreme caution” zone.

• Acclimatization.

  • New workers should be given time to get used to working in high heat areas. During their first two weeks they should be monitored for signs of heat illness and provided extra breaks until they have adjusted to the heat.

• Monitoring use of face masks for workers who work in hot and humid conditions or perform strenuous activities outdoors.

  • Workers should be encouraged to wear cloth face masks that are made out of breathable, moisture-wicking materials to stop the spread of COVID-19, and allowed to change wet face masks because it can be difficult to breath. Workers should also be allowed to remove face masks when they can safely maintain at least 6 feet of physical distance from others.

With outside temperatures starting to soar, now is the time to make sure employers are taking the steps necessary to protect workers from heat stress and heat-related illness. Heat can cause more than just discomfort. Exposure to high heat and high humidity can be life threatening. Employers should make sure workers know the signs, symptoms and appropriate first-aid procedures for serious heat illnesses. Read more on the HOT WEATHER ADVISORY.

• For more information about heat and heat-related illness, you can contact the UFCW Occupational Safety and Health Office in Washington, D.C. at 202-223-3111.

• Work with your local to make sure that workers are protected in hot conditions. Meet with the company to ensure that all of the proper hot weather safety strategies are being used in your work site.