Maryland’s newly published and adopted heat standard, which goes into effect Monday, requires all workers to have access to water, shade, and rest breaks when temperatures exceed 80 degrees — it joins just a handful of other states that have standards protecting workers from extreme heat.
Maryland’s heat standard, which is nearly four years in the making, could have saved someone like Ronald Silver II, a Baltimore City sanitation worker whose on the job death was first reported by WYPR. He died of hyperthermia, or heat exhaustion, as confirmed by the Maryland Office of the Medical Examiner.
There is no federal heat standard, although the Biden administration proposed one earlier this year. It could still be months before it is passed — and a new presidential administration could derail it altogether. California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Minnesota all have some type of codified heat stress regulation.
In Maryland, workers now must be provided with at least 32 oz of water, shaded breaks, and training on the symptoms of heat illness, including prevention. The regulations apply to both indoor and outdoor worksites where the what index can be regularly in excess of 80 degrees.
- When the heat index exceeds 90 degrees, workers must have ten minutes of cooled rest (taken in the AC or shade) for every two hours' worth of work
- At a 100 degree heat index, that rest period increases to fifteen minutes for every hour worked
- When high heat procedures are in place, employers must monitor for heat sickness via phone or radio, the buddy system, or other alternative means
Employers must keep written heat plans and must also include procedures for acclimatizing workers to heat. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that 50-70% of outdoor heat-related fatalities occur within the first few days of working in a warm or hot environment when the body hasn’t had time to adjust.
Maryland Labor Secretary Portia Wu says the regulations are largely a matter of “common sense.”
“We know, with the high heat that we've been seeing in recent years, that it's really important to protect workers, and it's also important for businesses to have clear guidance. So we think we've achieved that with this new rule,” said Wu.
In the thirty year span between 1992 and 2022, nearly 1,000 workers across all industry sectors have died from heat exposure according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Experts agree that is likely an undercount due to varying definitions of heat sickness and self-reporting.
In 2020, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation from Delegate Lorig Charkoudian requiring the state to create a standard. It wasn’t until two years later that Governor Larry Hogan’s administration issued a proposal that union leaders and safety advocates argued was “too weak” and ultimately, at their urging, the proposal was scrapped and nothing passed.
Hogan is running as a Republican to replace Ben Cardin in the US Senate. When contacted for comment, his campaign deferred to previous statements made by Michael Ricci, a former administration official.
"A report issued in February 2023 by the Moore-Miller administration states that MOSH adhered to the process laid out by the General Assembly for the public consideration and approval of new heat stress standards–rules that were commended for a 'balanced and enforceable approach.' We are grateful to the agency officials who upheld the legislative process for new standards while navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic," Ricci wrote.
Earlier this year, the state’s labor department and its stakeholders went back to the drawing board, ultimately introducing a new set of standards in July that the state has now adopted.
With regulations finally set, Charkoudian said she feels “relieved.”
“To now have lost somebody as recently as this summer while we were waiting for these heat stress standards to come into place, is just the full tragedy,” said the Democrat from Montgomery county, referring to Silver.
“I think no set of regulations are perfect, and I think that, you know, we could continue to consider and refine them, but in general, these are the strongest in the country,” Charkoudian said.
Secretary Wu said that technically the standards go into effect on September 30th but the cooler weather will give employers time to figure out compliance in a way that suits their workplace. The DOL will run targeted education and outreach campaigns to help employers come up to speed on the new regulations.