Springtime can be wonderful in Contra Costa County, with mild temperatures and fairly clear skies. But longtime residents know that summers can be scorching hot. As the climate heats up, these high temperatures appear to be getting higher every year.
For workers — both indoors and outdoors — this weather can mean serious safety hazards. The California Department of Public Health says that the state’s workers’ compensation system received 20,000 claims related to heat-related illness between 2000 and 2022.
Safety regulations
Under California law, employers must take certain steps to protect workers from hot weather. These include providing easy access to drinking water and shaded areas when the temperature is above 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
For outdoor workers, special measures must go into effect when temperatures reach above 95 degrees. These high-heat measures include frequent communication with workers to monitor their condition and to remind them to take water and shade breaks.
Employers must also prepare written plans for dealing with hot temperatures.
Last year, new regulations went into effect providing that some of these protections apply to indoor workers as well as outdoor workers.
Heat and workers’ compensation
Even when employers do follow all safety regulations — including those related to hot weather — workers can still be injured on the job. Fortunately, an injured worker doesn’t have to prove their employer did anything wrong in order to make a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. So long as the injury or illness happened at work, they should be able to collect benefits, including medical care and, in some case, lost wages while they are recovering.
That said, bureaucratic hurdles can get in the way of injured workers getting their benefits, and sometimes employers and their insurance companies refuse to give workers the full amount of benefits they deserve. For these and other reasons, it can be important for workers to seek out advice from experienced professionals.