Outdoor workers wanting protection from the heat protest two bills before legislature
HOMESTEAD - An activist group representing South Florida outdoor workers protested two bills before the state legislature on Sunday that they say would deprive counties of enacting its own measures that would protect workers against heat exposure.
Esteban Wood of We Count! said House Bill 433 and Senate Bill 1492 would "strip away" a county's ability to do what is right.
The language of HB 433 says in part that it "preempted...regulation of heat exposure requirements in the workplace" and "requires Department of Commerce to adopt rules relating to heat expire requirements of OSHA has not done so by date certain."
If the bills are approved, Wood said the state would take precedence over any measure enacted by Miami-Dade County and could be implemented in July. They are expected to come up for a vote in the next two to three weeks.
Because of the concerns about the suffocating summer heat, the MIami-Dade Commission has taken votes to pass the Que Calor Ordinance but it has not been passed and still faces a final vote.
According to the measures, on a day with a heat index of at least 90 degrees, outdoor workers would have the right to 10 minutes of paid rest and water breaks every two hours. There would also be a heat exposure safety program to educate workers and a new county office of workplace health and safety.
Wood said "HB 433 AND SP 1492 would strip away the county's rights and we know that extreme heat kills. No one should have to worry that their loved one will not come home. This is all about protecting the rights of families."