by Jeniffer Solis, Nevada Current
November 22, 2024

After a surge of heat-related workplace injuries in Nevada, state regulators approved a permanent heat stress standard Wednesday to protect the safety and health of indoor and outdoor workers.

Regulators said the new heat standard — now four years in the making — was spurred by a dramatic increase in heat-related complaints and workplace injuries reported to the Nevada Occupational Health and Safety Administration starting in 2021.

That year, Nevada OSHA received 344 heat-related complaints from workers throughout the state, a significant increase from an average of about 118 heat-related complaints from 2015 to 2020. 

As temperatures increase in Nevada’s cities, the number of workers exposed to dangerous temperatures shows no signs of abating without specific heat illness regulations in the state, said regulators. In 2024, Nevada OSHA received 467 complaints, the largest number of complaints in the agency’s history. 

“Approval of this regulation is a critical step to reduce the health risks of heat exposure for Nevada workers in indoor and outdoor settings. This regulation is the culmination of four years of discussion and engagement with various stakeholders to develop a framework that works for Nevada’s workers and employers,” said Division of Industrial Relations Administrator Victoria Carreon, in a statement.

Businesses with more than 10 employees will be required to perform a one-time job hazard analysis of working conditions that could expose workers to heat illness for more than 30 minutes within a one hour time period under the new regulations.

If working conditions exposing employees to heat-illness are identified, employers will be required to create a written plan that provides workers with portable water, and a rest break when a worker exhibits signs or symptoms of heat illness. 

The standard also requires employers to provide workers a way to cool down in their written plan, in addition to training workers and supervisors on the risk factors for heat illness, how to avoid it, procedures for complying with the standard, and emergency procedures if an employee becomes ill.

Employers will also be required to make a good faith effort to repair defective air conditioning units for indoor workers as soon as practical.

Heat illness results from the body’s inability to cope with heat and cool itself and can cause heat cramps, heat exhaustion, fainting, and even a potentially fatal heat stroke.

Construction workers, car dealers, bakers, tire shop employees, delivery workers, trash collectors, and workers in dozens of other industries are at high risk of heat-related hazards in the state, according to the Nevada Department of Business and Industry.

Various industries pushed back on the regulation during the rule-making process.  Several small businesses in Nevada filed comments with regulators opposing the proposed Nevada OSHA heat illness regulations, arguing they would adversely impact businesses.

American AVK Company, a manufacturing plant in Minden, told regulators in August that the proposed regulation would increase costs of employee training, maintenance, and energy costs.

Civil Werx, a general contractor in Las Vegas, also told regulators the company was concerned employees could take advantage of the new regulation and incur fines from OSHA despite best efforts to comply.

Nevada regulators acknowledged the new heat illness regulation “may have a small direct adverse effect on small businesses,” but said the new rule would also directly benefit small businesses by reducing employee injuries and lost time from occupational exposure to heat illness. 

Other business groups, including the Vegas Chamber, told regulators that multiple industries would be able to comply with the regulation without it being overly burdensome.

There are no federal standards to protect workers from heat-related hazards, leaving states to set their own. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been developing a federal heat rule that would protect both indoor and outdoor workers, but the process could stall as the new Trump administration takes office next year.

Developing a Nevada-specific heat illness standard has been an ongoing effort for regulators. Nevada will now join five other states that have created their own regulations that protect workers from heat-related hazards.

Before the new regulation was approved, state regulators in Nevada had the option to go after employers under a “general duty clause” rule, which requires workplaces to be “free from recognized hazards,” but the clause does not provide clear instructions for heat-related hazards or mandates for employee training.

Other attempts to create a heat illness standard for Nevada employers have been unsuccessful. The Legislative Commission rejected an earlier version of the regulation in 2022, and lawmakers failed to advance a bill in the Nevada Assembly last year that would have protected workers from extreme heat by requiring employers to provide workers with water, breaks, and shade during excessive heat days. The fumbles delayed the implementation of heat illness regulation, allowing hundreds of incidents of dangerous heat at job sites that were reported to Nevada OSHA this year.

In the coming weeks, the Division will post additional guidance for employers on their website (dir.nv.gov). Enforcement of the regulation will begin 90 days from the publication of the guidance. 

Nevada Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nevada Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Hugh Jackson for questions: [email protected]. Follow Nevada Current on Facebook and X.