Sponsor
Maxine Dexter
Representative · D-OR
Representative · D-OR
The bill provides concrete, health‑protective measures for outdoor agricultural workers against heat and wildfire smoke but does so at added cost and administrative burden to employers and risks reduced pay for some piece‑rate workers unless pay structures or funding offset those impacts.
Farmworkers (outdoor agricultural workers) gain guaranteed protections during dangerous heat and wildfire smoke — N95/N100 respirators, ensured access to water and cooling, and scheduled rest breaks — reducing immediate heat- and smoke-related illness.
Non‑English‑speaking and immigrant workers receive language‑appropriate training and opportunities to ask questions, improving understanding and practical use of health protections.
States with stronger protections are preserved as a floor and employers can get technical assistance from OSHA/DOL or local health departments, making compliance easier and helping maintain higher worker-protection standards.
Small farms and other employers face higher compliance costs for respirators, air filtration/cooling measures, and paid rest breaks, which can strain already thin margins.
Piece‑rate and other low‑income agricultural workers may see lower take‑home pay because mandatory breaks and reduced exposure time can cut productive hours unless compensation structures are adjusted.
Employers — especially small or resource‑limited operations — face additional administrative burdens to provide multilingual training, track exposures, and document compliance, increasing paperwork and time costs.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Creates an immediate OSHA standard and required permanent rule requiring respirators, water/cooling, training, and rest breaks for farmworkers during hazardous wildfire smoke and extreme heat.
Creates an immediate, enforceable OSHA standard and a required permanent rule to protect farmworkers from wildfire smoke and extreme heat. Employers of agricultural operations must provide NIOSH-certified respirators, potable water and cooling, language-appropriate training, and regular paid rest breaks when air quality or heat reach hazardous levels; the Department of Labor must adopt a final rule within 90 days of beginning rulemaking and the permanent standard must be at least as protective as the most protective State standard.
Official title: To establish an occupational safety and health standard to protect farmworkers from wildfire smoke and excessive heat, and for other purposes.
Introduced August 1, 2025 by Maxine Dexter · Last progress August 1, 2025