Florida baffles experts by banning local water break rules as deadly heat is on the rise

Florida bans local heat rules for outdoor workers, baffling experts (usatoday.com)

Sweltering summer heat might have been more bearable for outdoor workers in Miami-Dade County under a proposal that suggested mandated breaks in the shade on the hottest days – but Florida said no.

The county's proposal to establish heat rules for workers has been preempted by a new law: Florida has joined Texas in banning such local rules for outdoor workers. Meanwhile, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington have passed laws giving more protections to construction workers who work in extreme heat.

Florida's new law has frustrated and angered some experts and advocates for construction workers and farmworkers. As summers get hotter over the years, outdoor workers will need more protections, not fewer, said Luigi Guadarrama, political director of Sierra Club Florida said.

The law will primarily affect low-income workers of color, Guadarrama said: “Currently, the state legislature has no interest in protecting workers."

Other advocates also say more protections for outdoor workers are needed.

The bill also prevents local governments from making higher minimum wages than the state's.

I can't make sense of this. It seems needlessly cruel and anti-worker. I guess anything to make a buck right?

@robertos: cruelty is the point.

When I was detasseling as a kid, the first company I worked for withheld water if we didn't get through the rows fast enough. Even if you get plenty of water, you can get dehydrated and ill. I think a lot of people who haven't worked these jobs don't get it. This is evil.

Of course, it's a red state. Doyyy!!

Absolutely disgusting.

The main issue I see with this is it puts the onus back on the companies to have protections in place as the OSHA guidelines really aren't strong enough for people working outside in 100+ heat, and we all know that these companies value profits over the welfare of employees, who are easily replaced. Over the last decade, the number of heat related deaths in Florida has risen 95% and that will only get worse as climate change continues to increase the extremes of weather. Just feel it's all heading in the wrong direction.

Having worked in hot kitchens as a cook and dishwasher, construction sites in the 100+ degree California heat for a few summers in college, and in a 120+ degree brewhouse at a brewery...water breaks are incredibly important.

I've even had some really great employers actually shut down production when days were too hot: there simply comes a point where hydrating and shade can only do so much and it's not a question of if people will start suffering heatstroke, but when.

People of color are especially prone to heatstroke due to darker pigments absorbing more heat, in addition to field hands often being people of color.

Anyway, I hope we see MASSIVE protests over this. I'm talking white and brown and everything in between coming together and marching in the streets (before it gets hot of course!).

Yup, these people probably never did a day of labor in their life. They come from money, go to law school, get jobs through connections where they bypass 20-30 years of putting in their time, and then take control when an opportunity presents itself at the local, state, or federal level.

I'm generalizing of course but you see it a lot, so...

I have no idea why public workers don't use the japanese solution of having clothes that self ventilate. It's such a simple idea:

https://youtu.be/HjejY_pFk7E?si=yHEeb64skzl02v-s

Not saying there shouldn't be breaks. Should be several solutions.

@nirgal: Because the electronics would be broken within a week.

The reason water and the ability to cool off for a moment are so critical in these jobs is because they're labor intensive and you're exposed to the elements.

@mattbbpl: when I was in Japan people were using it all the time...

I hope one day those horrible people at the Florida government can be kicked out. The sheer malice they have been doing for the past decade is cruel and inhumane.

@nirgal: For what? I couldn't imagine using this thing for most of the jobs I did. Bailing hay would crush it as would shoveling rock. Laying bricks or laying shingles would be ok, but that's for more advanced crew members. Carrying loads of them wouldn't work. Field work resulted in me being soaked head to toe within a couple hours due to a combination of dew and sweat.

We're going to kill people if we withhold the basic requirements to maintain homeostasis.

• Were they working in fields with mud and dirt when you saw them?
• Did they have PPE gear on over or under it that would interfere with the electronics or ventilation?
• Could these self-ventilating gadgets get wet and still function?
• Do their charges last an entire 16-hour shift?
• Would they last six days a week for months on end?
• Would employers be willing to purchase them for employees? Would the government force them to?
• Do they protect from sun exposure?
• Do they work in 115-degree heat, or well enough to overcome the heat?
• Are they comfortable and flexible, and allow workers to bend, stoop, lift? Wear harnesses so they can work at elevation?
• Are they OSHA approved?

There are obviously many, many, many questions to ask and not a lot of answers. Which is why we must rely on legislation to simply eliminate the need to ask these questions and create safe working environments and policies.

that's the whole point, isn't it?

@horgen: If history is any guide, it's closer to, "the goal is to extract another dollar no matter who we kill."

Looks like a gimmick than its more useful to me.

Yes, but bonus points for cruelty.