Workers face dangers, health risks as extreme heat wave hits Southern California

For some workers, a scorching heat wave can mean facing potentially dangerous conditions while working outside at places like construction sites. For others, it can mean being trapped in baking heat, inside a confined space with no air conditioning for hours.

Earlier this summer, a number of complaints were made to California labor regulators over broken air conditioners and hot kitchens at restaurants while weather forecasters have repeatedly warned of the health risks facing people who work outside. Fainting, pulsing headaches and dizziness are just some of the conditions reported in complaints from June. And now, temperatures are rising once again, but this time, they're even higher.

In Woodland Hills, forecasters are warning of a potential high of 118 degrees on Friday.

It's just one of many parts of Los Angeles seeing triple-digit temperatures this week. An intense heat wave is bringing "dangerously hot conditions" to a wide swath of Southern California. 

Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties are all expected to see sweltering, above-average temperatures.

An excessive heat warning from the National Weather Service will remain in effect across the region through the weekend.

The nation's chief regulator of labor conditions — the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA — is warning employers about the need to protect workers. OSHA mentioned several projected high temperatures, from 119 degrees in Imperial County to 111 degrees in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, in a statement released Thursday.

"Cal/OSHA reminds employers to protect workers from heat illness as extreme temperatures are forecast across California on Thursday and Friday," the agency said, telling employers to offer cool-down rest breaks when needed.

From fast food workers to laborers at construction sites, people across many fields of work can face challenging, uncomfortable, even dangerous conditions. Construction workers and others working outside are at especially high risk of conditions like heat exhaustion, according to the National Weather Service, which advised keeping hydrated and staying in the shade when possible.

In Los Feliz, a construction worker got trapped inside an 8-foot deep trench as the temperature reached 103 degrees Thursday afternoon. Two Los Angeles firefighters involved in the rescue were treated for heat exhaustion, one of them taken to a hospital, while the worker was rushed to a hospital in serious condition after being trapped underground for hours in the baking heat.

A Southern California union representing electrical workers, IBEW569, told members to take precautions and call their union reps if they're face unsafe conditions.

"Sun protection, reg. hydration, & rest breaks can mean the difference between a safe shift and a trip to the ER," the union said.  

But those working inside can also face risks.

Earlier this summer, at a restaurant in the Miracle Mile area of LA, temperatures inside the kitchen exceeded 100 degrees as the air conditioner there has been broken for years, according to a complaint workers filed with OSHA. It resulted in one worker being rushed to a hospital in an ambulance, the complaint says. 

CBS News Los Angeles is not identifying the restaurant or workers involved to protect their identities.

"When I fainted in the kitchen from the heat and woke up in the back of an ambulance, as soon as I came to, I got out of the ambulance and went right back to work, worried about losing my job," the worker said in the OSHA complaint. "I didn't know that I had a right to employer-paid urgent medical treatment, that I was entitled to job-protected leave..."

Elsewhere in LA County, workers at a Taco Bell restaurant in Alhambra went on strike on Aug. 8 when the air conditioner stopped working and temperatures inside the kitchen surpassed 100 degrees. They demanded it be fixed after repeatedly asking management to make the repair, according to the California Fast Food Workers Union. 

Just a little over a week earlier, on July 30, one of the workers at the Taco Bell had her lips turn white as she "felt the energy completely drain from her body," according to a complaint filed with OSHA.

"Management has us cool down in the walk-in refrigerator, but that is not a solution, and it does not feel safe to switch between extreme heat and extreme cold," the workers wrote in the complaint. "We have asked management repeatedly to fix the AC, and they say they are fixing it, but it isn't fixed, and when it does get fixed it breaks again soon after."

Since then, management at the Taco Bell has fixed the air conditioner, according to the workers' union.

"Workers say the air conditioner has been fixed thanks to them speaking out and going on strike," Maria Maldonado, statewide director for the union, wrote in an email.

Maldonado indicated that workers at several other fast food restaurants in Southern California are currently reporting working conditions with extreme heat, including one establishment where they plan on filing a complaint with OSHA.

If you are facing extreme heat or other unsafe working conditions, you can find out how to file a complaint with OSHA here.