Lawmaker revamps bill aimed at protecting workers from heat

SOPHIE NIETO-MUNOZ / NEW JERSEY MONITOR – After a nearly three-hour hearing Thursday, lawmakers advanced a controversial bill that would mandate heat standard protections for New Jersey workers.

The measure, which faces sharp opposition from business groups, would require the state labor commissioner to create a heat stress standard that would trigger certain requirements from employers, like limiting how long people can work and mandating paid breaks and access to cool water.

The bill is a new version of a previous bill that had languished after passing out of committee, said bill sponsor Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-Essex). After conversations with lawmakers, business groups, and activists, she said she made 13 major changes.

Those include: lowering the maximum penalties from $5,000 to $2,000; exempting more industries; decreasing the record-keeping requirement from six years to three years and removing a requirement that those records be publicly available; raising the temporary “excessive heat” definition from 80 degrees to 85 degrees; and removing all criminal penalties for violations.

Some of these changes were intended to address criticism about the bill’s effect on small business owners. But several small business owners still came to the Assembly Labor Committee Thursday to express opposition to the revamped bill.

Eric Blomgren of the New Jersey Gas and Community Store Association noted that many gas stations only have one attendant at a time. Corporate gas stations may be able to handle the bill’s requirements, but the measure would still undercut small businesses, he said.

If gas station employees are required to take a break when temperatures exceed 85 degrees, gas stations across the state would close, or state law would have to allow customers to pump their gas, Blomgren said.

“We’re talking about a situation where we won’t be able to buy gas for about a 20-minute window every two hours for somewhere between 20 and 30% a year,” he said.

At a time when temperatures are rising steadily — NASA says 2024 was the warmest year on record — labor activists and union leaders say it’s important to enact more protections to keep workers from overheating on the job. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration says heat is the leading cause of death among all hazardous weather conditions in the nation, and notes that workers of color in essential jobs are disproportionately subject to hot working conditions.
Jerry Cortez is a UPS driver who said he’s experienced how dangerous extreme heat can be. He compared the heat and humidity inside of a metal truck during New Jersey’s summer months to working in Texas and Arizona. The hot days seem to get more intense each year, he said.

“We need strong laws and strong union contracts to hold employees accountable,” he said. “Because left to their own devices, these companies are going to push workers beyond what’s safe.

Cortez, a member of the Teamsters Local 177, said warehouse and delivery drivers are constantly calling him about struggling in the heat. He noted that several New Jersey workers have died or sustained severe illness due to heat exposure in the last five years. Nearly 500 workers have died between 2011 to 2022 due to heat exposure, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Rafael Escalante, a 22-year-old Rutgers student and restaurant worker, said summer months have made it challenging in a commercial kitchen or working outdoors while wearing heavy uniforms without access to breaks or shade. Summers are the most profitable time for restaurant workers, but working under these conditions has made “life at work miserable.”

“Shade, water, and rest are not a privilege. They are a basic right. They are the bare minimum necessary for human survival,” he said.

He noted five other states have passed similar legislation: California, Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington.

Activists said the bill is a “common sense” way to protect vulnerable workers suffering through hot days, but business groups opposed the bill for what they say continues to be onerous requirements.

Elissa Frank of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association told lawmakers that while the amended bill is an improvement, it remains a “one-size-fits-all approach” that ignores the nuances of New Jersey businesses.

The bill would force employers to stop work during periods of excessive heat unless a worker’s duties are essential. Frank argued that the bill doesn’t define non-essential work, which could lead to confusion and litigation.

Lawmakers ultimately voted to advance the bill, with four Republicans voting no and Democrats voting yes but expressing reservations.

“I agree fundamentally that we don’t want to see anybody die, but as lawmakers, it would be an irresponsible approach for us to try to legislate all the risk out of the world,” said Assemblyman Brian Bergen (R-Morris). “And this bill essentially tries to do that.”

Republished under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.