Vermont committee reviews proposal to require workplace protections for extreme heat and cold

The House General and Housing Committee reviewed a long-form draft of a bill to protect workers from extreme workplace temperatures during a May 7 committee meeting. Sophie Sedatni, legislative counsel with the Office of Legislative Council, said the draft — introduced on the Senate side as S.153 — was prepared after the committee instructed staff to convert a short form request into a standard bill.

"The purpose, the language is that thousands of workers become sick from occupational exposure to extreme hot and cold temperatures each year, and many of them die," Sophie Sedatni said. She told the committee she used advocates' requests and federal guidance in drafting the proposal, and that the bill borrows concepts from the federal rulemaking on extreme heat and NIOSH guidance on cold.

The bill would add a subchapter to Title 21 to require covered employers to develop an ‘‘extreme temperature prevention plan’’ that is site-specific, posted and updated annually. Among the draft provisions Sedatni highlighted: employers must display thermometers at indoor and outdoor worksites and in work vehicles; use wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) measurements for heat exposure; provide access to potable water and appropriately sized shaded or cooled break areas; train employees and supervisors at no cost in language and literacy levels they understand; monitor employees (by buddy system or supervisor/ designated observer, with no…