Last progress July 31, 2025 (4 months ago)
Introduced on July 31, 2025 by Jeff Merkley
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
This bill would set national safety rules to protect farmworkers from wildfire smoke and extreme heat. It requires farms to give workers protective gear like N95 or N100 respirators when air quality is harmful, and to require their use when conditions are extremely dangerous. It also requires water, cooling areas, and mandatory rest breaks of at least 10 minutes every 2 hours in shaded or cooler spots once heat or smoke reaches dangerous levels. Workers must get training, in a language they understand, on how to use the gear and how to spot smoke- and heat-related health risks, with time to ask questions and get answers .
These protections take effect right away as an initial standard and are enforced like other workplace safety rules, including protections against retaliation. Within 90 days, the Labor Department must start writing a permanent standard that is at least as strong as these initial protections and no weaker than the strictest state rules. The Department must also offer technical help and create sample training materials, working with community groups and providing materials in additional languages, including Indigenous languages . The bill is based on findings that wildfire smoke and heat are growing threats to outdoor workers and can be deadly without protection .