Sponsors (11)
The bill reduces federal regulatory costs and preserves flexibility for employers and agencies but does so at the cost of denying a uniform, prescriptive federal heat‑safety standard—likely leaving many workers with weaker, uneven protections and increasing heat‑related health risks.
Small-business owners and employers avoid new federal compliance costs and administrative burdens because the bill prevents adopting the specific August 30, 2024 federal heat-safety standard.
Supervisors and employers in varied industries can continue using tailored, non‑one-size-fits-all heat-protection practices suited to their climate and worksite, reducing confusion about rigid federal mandates.
Federal agencies (e.g., OSHA and the Secretary of Labor) retain regulatory flexibility instead of being required to implement the specific federal heat standard on a fixed timeline.
Outdoor and indoor workers—especially low‑income manual laborers such as construction and delivery workers—are left without mandated protections (rest breaks, triggers, acclimatization), raising their risk of heat‑related illness and death.
Blocking a comprehensive prescriptive OSHA rule makes it more likely employers will delay adopting uniform safety measures, increasing worker exposure to dangerous heat during heat waves.
States and multistate employers may face legal uncertainty and a patchwork of state-level requirements, producing uneven worker protections and new compliance costs for businesses operating in multiple states.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Bars the Secretary of Labor from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing OSHA's Aug 30, 2024 proposed heat-injury prevention standard or any substantially similar standard.
Official title: Prohibit the Secretary of Labor from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing a proposed standard with respect to heat injury and illness prevention, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 29, 2026 by Bill Cassidy · Last progress April 29, 2026
Prohibits the Secretary of Labor from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing OSHA’s proposed “Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings” standard (published Aug 30, 2024) or any substantially similar standard. It expresses congressional findings that the proposed rule is overly prescriptive, burdensome to businesses, confusing for workers, and unworkable because it would apply a single prescriptive approach to diverse industries and geographies.