Heat Workforce Standards Act of 2026

Blocks federal workplace heat rule

This bill would prohibit the Secretary of Labor from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing OSHA's proposed standard titled "Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings" (published Aug. 30, 2024; 89 Fed. Reg. 70698). It would also bar the Secretary from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing any substantially similar standard. It would take effect upon enactment. Employers would avoid the compliance rules and costs such a standard could create. Workers exposed to heat would not get the new federal protections the proposed rule would have created. The bill includes findings criticizing the proposed rule as overly prescriptive and burdensome, but it does not provide new funding or an alternative federal heat standard.