Why should employers post the Federal OSHA Prevent Heat Illness at Work Poster?
- General Duty Clause: The Federal OSHA Prevent Heat Illness at Work Poster serves as an essential piece of an employer’s program of compliance with responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The General Duty Clause of the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. § 654, 5(a)1) that requires all employers to provide a place of employment that is “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.” This includes protecting workers from extreme heat.
- Compliance: If a heat hazard is present in a workplace, OSHA requires employers to establish plans to protect workers from developing heat-related illnesses. This includes:
- raising awareness that hazardous heat exposure can occur indoors or outdoors, in any season under the right conditions,
- implementing heat-related interventions, and
- training workers on how to identify common symptoms and what to do when a worker suspects a heat-related illness is occurring.
- The Federal OSHA Prevent Heat Illness at Work Poster is an effective heat-illness awareness, intervention, and training tool. Employers can also select the Federal OSHA Prevent Heat Illness at Work Pamphlet to supplement workplace posting and provide workers with a heat-illness awareness and intervention ready-reference tool.
What does the poster and pamphlet cover?
- Ways to protect yourself and others:
- Building heat tolerance (acclimatizing)
- Drinking Cool Water
- Taking rest breaks
- Finding shade or a cool area
- Dressing for the heat
- Monitoring for signs of heat illness
- What to do if wearing a face covering
- First Aid for Heat Illness
- Signs of a medical emergency and how to respond
- Signs of heat illness and how to respond to each symptom
- OSHA contact information and web locator for OSHA’s dedicated heat hazard web page
Heat-related illnesses and heat-related deaths can be prevented if supervisors and workers are prepared.