(VitalNews.org) – Workers have spoken out across the United States about how the extreme heat conditions are affecting their employees, their business, and themselves.
Edwin Sandoval is one business owner that works in Colorado on a food truck. He spoke out about the conditions of the heat and how it’s affecting his business by saying that it does take an adjustment for your body to get used to the heat.
In his food truck it can get over one hundred degrees and at the grill, it can get even hotter. Employees are rotated on and off the grill frequently, and he stated that he carries water and Gatorade on the truck as well.
“I think there’s just like, to a point, where you realize that there’s a discomfort in working in kitchens,” Sandoval said.
California, Colorado, Minnesota, Washington, and Oregon have put laws in place to protect workers from excessive heat. Although there aren’t any federal regulations, the Biden administration just announced a new rule that would cover over thirty million workers.
In 2022 there were over forty heat related workplace deaths. Jill Rosenthal, a worker health and safety advocate, said, “I think they absolutely will make an impact on the lives of workers.”
“It can reduce worker compensation claims, reduce healthcare costs,” she added. “If you consider the productivity losses that employers are facing, it shouldn’t be much of a lift.”
Many states are experiencing higher than normal temperatures and for more days of the year, leading to more cases of heat exhaustion.
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