Bill > S3240

This bill establishes protections for workers exposed to extreme heat or cold, recognizing the significant health risks associated with such conditions, including serious illness, injury, or death, and noting that new employees are particularly vulnerable. It mandates that employers ensure effective communication so employees can contact supervisors when necessary, and that employers observe employees for signs of heat illness. The bill requires employers to provide free, effective training during working hours covering the risks, symptoms, and medical responses to cold stress and heat illness, indoor and outdoor temperature thresholds, employer procedures for monitoring conditions, engineering and administrative controls, acclimatization, and the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE), including understanding its additional physiological burden. Training must also include medical monitoring, emergency response procedures, and the importance of reporting symptoms without fear of retaliation, and it must be administered at hiring and at least annually, with materials appropriate to employees' literacy and language, and include interactive question-and-answer sessions. Retraining is required as needed, especially before hot or cold seasons or during heat waves, and employers must make written programs available upon request. The bill also mandates that employers collect and maintain confidential records of all temperature-related illnesses and fatalities, making them available upon request, and subjects employers to fines for non-compliance. Furthermore, it prohibits retaliation or discrimination against employees for reporting hazardous conditions or injuries and holds employers liable for providing care, including medical costs and funeral arrangements, in cases of disability or death resulting from temperature-related working conditions.