Update On NV OSHA’s Heat Regulation

Volume: 21 | Issue: 15
March 7, 2022

After a second stakeholder’s meeting, Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (NV OSHA) has published another set of revisions to its proposed regulation addressing heat illness and injury. 

If adopted, the proposed regulation will require all Nevada employers to be aware of heat illness and its signs/symptoms. If an employee shows signs of heat illness, the employer will be required to:

  • relieve the employee from duty;
  • provide the employee with a way to reduce his/her body temperature; and
  • monitor the employee to determine whether medical attention is required.

If you have employees who are exposed to temperatures at or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the proposed regulation would also require you to develop a program for the management of heat illness to include in your written safety program and conduct training for supervisors and employees on heat illness. The proposed regulation specifies what should be included in the program (Section 7) and what should be included in the training (Section 8).

NV OSHA has also published a memo answering questions raised during the stakeholder meetings. This document provides background information on the proposed regulation and tells us what NV OSHA will do once the federal agency eventually adopts its Heat Illness Standard:

“When Federal OSHA promulgates their Heat Illness Standard, Nevada OSHA will be notified and given a period of time to evaluate existing Nevada regulations and provide a response to Federal OSHA indicating that the regulation is at least as effective as the federal standard, or if changes will need to be made to the Nevada regulation. If changes are necessary, Nevada will initiate the rulemaking process to add any provisions that are warranted to be at least as effective as the federal standard.”

We will keep you updated on this proposed regulation which will now likely proceed to a public hearing. If you have questions about NV OSHA or the proposed heat illness regulation, please contact a KZA attorney.

KZA Employer Report articles are for general information only; they are not intended and should not be construed to be legal advice. Reading or replying to such articles does not establish an attorney-client relationship. In addition, because the subject matters and applicable laws discussed in Employer Report articles are often in a state of change and not always applicable to every type of business entity or organization, readers should consult with counsel before making decisions based on the same.

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