Maryland’s statewide heat stress standard, which took effect Monday, September 30, 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 joins five states – California, Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington – that already have statewide heat standards in place. 

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. OSHA 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 told WYPR, Baltimore's public news network, that 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 requiring the state to create a standard. Two years later, 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.

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.

Secretary Wu said 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.

U.S. OSHA published its proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Standard in the Federal Register in August; it is open for public comment through December 30, 2024. The standard requires employers to provide rest, water, shade and other protections during periods of extreme heat and also calls for workers to be involved in developing a heat safety plan.

National COSH is circulating a petition in support of the proposed OSHA rule and is working with unions, workers’ centers and advocacy groups to assist workers who want to participate in the public comment process.