Farm workers in southern New Mexico get to work hours before dawn during heat waves to harvest chile peppers. Oilfield workers don heavy gear, despite the heat, to drive to remote drilling sites spread across the state’s Permian Basin. Teachers make do in classrooms with failing air conditioning. New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau is seeking better protections for these workers as the Land of Enchantment gets hotter. The
proposed heat protection rule was introduced this spring. The bureau, which is part of the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), accepted comments on the proposed rule during three outreach events this week. The state’s environmental improvement board will hold a public hearing for the rule in July and, if adopted, it will go into effect in August. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed a federal rule to prevent heat injuries and illness under the Biden administration, but it is unlikely to progress during the Trump presidency. New Mexico would be the eighth state to adopt standards to protect workers from extreme heat, following states like California and Oregon. Advocates in New Mexico say it’s time for the state to adopt its own rule, as temperatures climb. “Our workers need protection now,” said Shelley Mann-Lev, the executive director of Healthy Climate New Mexico. “We can’t afford to wait another summer.” Mann-Lev added, “We are thrilled that NMED has put forward a solid, science-based standard.” But numerous public comments from the construction and restaurant industries and state Republican lawmakers say the proposed rule is onerous and will hinder business development in New Mexico. “I do not think that the Environment Department has provided enough evidence,” said Rebecca Dow, a Republican who represents agricultural areas in southern New Mexico. “I would want a study showing that this extreme rule… is the only method of reducing heat stroke.” She added, “I am very concerned about the cost of construction, the cost of food.”
Rule Responds to New Mexico’s Rapidly Rising Temperatures
New Mexico is experiencing the impacts of climate change, from rising temperatures to increased wildfire risk and extreme drought. Summer 2024 was the hottest summer on record in Las Cruces, in southern New Mexico. Summer temperatures in Las Cruces have risen 5.4 degrees on average since 1970, according to the nonprofit Climate Central. In its petition to create a workplace heat rule, the Occupational Health and Safety Bureau
referenced studies showing that New Mexico is one of the fastest-warming states in the continental U.S. The bureau reported receiving 232 heat-related complaints from workers since 2023, when it adopted OSHA’s National Emphasis Program for heat-related injury and illness. The New Mexico Department of Health also documented over 900 emergency department visits from heat exposure in 2023, of which 120 appeared to be work-related. The draft rule covers both indoor and outdoor workers. Protocols would kick in once temperatures rise above a heat index of 80 degrees. Employers would be required to develop a heat illness and injury prevention plan. Workers recently assigned to high-heat work areas would also have to go through a period of acclimatization, a process that can save lives. Staff gave the example of a worker moving to New Mexico from a cooler area, who would be gradually introduced to working conditions during the heat. The rule also requires providing cool drinking water and shade structures at work sites. Breaks would be required once the heat index passes 95 degrees for heavy work and be proportionally longer as the temperature rises. The bureau estimated compliance could cost approximately $16,800 annually for a company employing 10 outdoor workers in the Albuquerque area, as an example. But staff said compliance could result in cost savings for employers, in the form of avoided workers’ compensation claims and medical expenses.
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Our nonprofit newsroom provides award-winning climate coverage free of charge and advertising. We rely on donations from readers like you to keep going. Please donate now to support our work. New Mexico would join California, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, which have already adopted state protections for workers during extreme heat. Federal action on heat protections are expected to stagnate during the Trump administration. A House committee hearing earlier this month focused on what Republican representatives
called OSHA “overreach” in the proposed heat injury and prevention rule. OSHA has also lost 10 percent of its staff since Trump took office, as workers accepted the early retirement offered by the administration, according to a former OSHA deputy assistant secretary who testified.
Public Comments Reflect Industry Concerns and Labor Support
NMED is accepting comments on the proposed rule until May 30. Dozens of comments have been submitted online in addition to comments made during this week’s events, which were hosted in Albuquerque and virtually. One teacher in the Albuquerque Public Schools wrote that three years ago the swamp cooler, or
evaporative cooler , in his portable classroom broke. He said the temperature inside the portable rose to 100 degrees and he ended up in the hospital with extreme dehydration. “Bottom line. Heat is a safety issue for staff and students in schools,” he wrote. “We need this rule.” James Cobb, president of United Steelworkers Local 12-9477 in Carlsbad, also commented in support of the rule. “Without consistent safeguards in place, workers are too often left to fend for themselves against dangerously high temperatures, risking dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and even death,” he wrote.
Public comments submitted by 24 Republican state lawmakers called for “a voluntary program that will truly address worker heat illness and safety issues without the heavy hand of state government mandates.” “We are not convinced a new set of state regulations will have any positive impact on workers’ health, although it will have a significant negative impact on jobsite efficiency and increase employer costs,” the lawmakers wrote. The New Mexico Restaurant Association is among the industry organizations that have spoken out against the rule. Its CEO, Carol Wight, told Inside Climate News that she would like restaurants to be removed. She said that the proposed mandatory breaks and acclimatization requirements would present operational challenges for restaurants and disrupt work flows. She said a “one size fits all” approach doesn’t make sense and the association would rather work with NMED to develop “practical, flexible solutions that safeguard workers without bankrupting businesses.” “This rule will harm small businesses, disrupt service, and increase costs for a problem that hardly exists in restaurants,” she said. As temperatures rise, though,
restaurant workers around the country are among those pressing for protections. Once the public comment period wraps up next week, the next steps for the rule will lie with the Environmental Improvement Board, whose seven members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate.
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