Assembly committee advances heat-safety bill after daylong hearing where labor and business clashed

The Assembly Labor Committee advanced legislation (A5022) to require employers to adopt heat-related illness and injury prevention plans and give the Labor commissioner enforcement powers, voting to release the bill as amended on Feb. 26.

Supporters said the bill fills a gap in worker protections as New Jersey’s summers warm. “Shade, water and rest are not a privilege,” Rutgers student and restaurant worker Rafael Escalante told the committee, summarizing testimony from restaurant, health-care and logistics workers who said they face frequent overheating, dehydration and, in some cases, death when employers do not limit heat exposure or provide basic breaks and cooling measures.

The bill directs the labor commissioner to adopt a rule establishing heat thresholds that trigger employer duties, requires written prevention plans developed with employee participation where feasible, mandates training, and authorizes stop-work orders and monetary penalties for violations. Committee amendments clarified some technical provisions and the effective date, and exempted certain narrowly defined emergency life-safety operations and allowed the Department of Agriculture to develop farm-specific standards in consultation with Rutgers’ New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.

Labor unions, worker-advocacy groups and several environmental organizations testified strongly in favor. Jerry Cortez, a Teamsters shop steward and UPS driver, said his co-workers had become dangerously ill in hot distribution centers and described bargaining wins at his employer that improved drinking water, fans and truck ventilation. Gabrielle Davis of the BlueGreen Alliance cited state warming data and studies showing heat-related worker fatalities and argued economic benefits from preventing heat-related losses.

Business groups, industry associations and chambers of commerce opposed the bill in its current form, citing implementation costs, enforcement capacity and one-size-fits-all concerns for diverse sectors. Alyssa Frank, vice president of government affairs at the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, told the committee that small employers and state agencies face budget constraints and that the bill’s requirements could impose “significant requirements on businesses concerning costs and vagueness.”

Hospital, restaurant, convenience-store and farm-industry representatives raised operational questions. Amanda Stone of the New Jersey Restaurant & Hospitality Association said many restaurants already use ventilation and other measures and warned of unintended consequences for late-night service or special events if staff must pause operations under a stop-work order. Convenience-store and motor-fuel trade witnesses said mandated break rules could leave single-attendant shops unable to lawfully sell fuel unless they hire extra staff.

Several witnesses urged more precise triggers and implementation guidance. Industry and trade witnesses suggested aligning the state's trigger thresholds and regional approach with the National Weather Service advisories and urged clearer carve-outs or sector-specific rules for camps, agriculture, utilities, and other outdoor or continuous-operation employers. Representatives of unions and worker groups opposed broad carve-outs, saying many industries lack collective-bargaining protections and need statutory coverage.

Committee members praised the volume of testimony and urged continued negotiation. Sponsor Assemblywoman Quijano said she would continue working with stakeholders on technical changes. The committee voted to release the bill as amended for further legislative action.

Votes at the committee roll call were recorded and the motion to amend and release A5022 passed; the committee chair said the bill was being moved forward with the understanding that the sponsor would continue stakeholder meetings to refine definitions, exemptions, and enforcement mechanisms.

The bill places several implementation choices in the hands of the Labor commissioner, including the formal heat threshold once rules are finalized; during the hearing, some committee members and industry witnesses said that discretion will be critical to address sector-specific operational concerns.

Supporters urged the committee to act quickly, citing recent worker deaths and heat incidents in workplaces statewide; opponents asked for more time to refine exemptions, clarify penalties, and reduce administrative burdens on small employers.

The committee set a procedural deadline for stakeholders to submit proposed amendments by Friday, Feb. 28, 3 p.m., and several members indicated they expect ongoing negotiation before final floor consideration.