As we get news that 100 million people are now under heat alerts as high temperatures expand into Midwest and Northeast, President Biden announced that his administration is working on a plan to protect Americans from the killer heat. So far, there have been more than ‘400 work-related deaths caused by heat exposure since 2011.’
1. The Department of Labor will increase the enforcement of ‘heat-safety violations and inspections in high-risk workplaces, such as construction and agriculture sites.’
2. The Labor Department will also issue a hazard alert to tell employers what they should do to protect workers, ‘help ensure employees are aware of their rights, such as protections against retaliation, and highlight steps that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has in place to try to ensure worker safety’, the White House said.
As well, the Biden administration said they are investing up to $7 million to improve weather forecasts to allow communities to better prepare for extreme weather.