Florida legislature passes bill prohibiting local-level regulations on protecting workers from heat

Tallahassee, FL — Legislation that would prohibit local municipalities, counties or any other “political subdivision” in Florida from enacting regulations requiring worker protections against heat exposure is awaiting the governor’s approval.

The state’s legislature passed an amended C.S./C.S./H.B. 433 on March 8. The heat-related language originally was in C.S./S.B. 1492, sponsored by Sen. Jay Trumbull (R-Panama City).

The bill, which would go into effect July 1 if signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), would restrict heat-exposure requirements beyond state or federal law. That includes any requirements for acclimatization, employee monitoring, heat exposure training, first aid or emergency response for heat exposure, or reporting and recordkeeping.

“I would say every employer in this state cares about their employees and wants to make sure they’re in the best, safest working conditions possible,” Trumbull said March 5 on the Florida Senate floor. “What this bill is saying is that we’re not going to allow individual communities to create a patchwork of regulations.”

The bill also would direct the state’s Department of Commerce to adopt workplace heat exposure requirements by July 1, 2028, if OSHA hasn’t done so by then. Those requirements must be consistent with OSHA’s standards in effect at the time the department adopts its rules, and modified as necessary to reflect workplace heat exposure considerations specific to the state.

If no such OSHA standards exist by the required adoption date, Florida officials wouldn’t have to require those protections. The agency currently uses the General Duty Clause for heat-related violations. 

“The OSHA heat guidelines are voluntary,” Florida Sen. Tina Polsky (D-Boca Raton) said March 5. “How do we know that every company is doing the right thing? Any ordinance that comes about would be for the protection of workers and not to the detriment of the employer.

“If you have a different regulation in Miami than in Orlando, I think a large construction company can figure that out. They have to deal with that anyway. All the permitting processes are different. They deal with different local regulations everywhere.”

Texas passed a similar bill in May, but it was struck down by a judge in the state. However, that law – also known as the “Death Star Law” – went into effect Sept. 1 because of an appeal by the state’s attorney general, according to published reports.

Watchdog group Public Citizen calls the Florida bill “monstrous,” pointing out that hundreds of workers die from heat exposure every year.

“Not only does this bill rob workers of simple water breaks, it forbids the posting of educational materials to protect themselves from the heat,” the group said in a press release. “The vicious inhumanity at the heart of this legislation will cost the lives of and impose needless suffering on workers – especially workers of color and immigrant workers, who make up a disproportionate share of agricultural and construction workers – across the state.”