The timeline for a long-awaited rulemaking process for a proposed workplace heat protection rule has been extended by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED).
The move comes as a coalition of advocates urges the state to quickly craft stronger heat-risk standards to shield indoor and outdoor workers from heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
The draft 鈥溾�� is a standardized workplace safety measure meant to ensure that workers exposed to high temperatures receive adequate breaks, water, and shade from their employers.
When the heat index rises to 80 degrees Fahrenheit or above, the rule also requires that employers have a 鈥渉eat illness prevention plan鈥� in both English and the language understood by most employees, a heat exposure assessment to identify work heat hazards, in-person training, and employee monitoring.
鈥淭hese are very, very basic protections for workers 鈥� that every human being should be able to make a living, feed their family, make sure that they have a roof over the head, and not put themselves at risk every single day,鈥� said Carlos Matutes, New Mexico State Director for the climate advocacy group .
Matutes is disappointed the process has been delayed, especially as the state .
鈥淓very single day that NMED delays rulemaking, those are days where workers are going to get sick, workers are going to get injured, and potentially some workers are going to die.鈥�
The Environmental Improvement Board 鈥� the state body responsible for developing and adopting environmental regulations 鈥� was supposed to have a hearing next month to consider the rule. Now, it鈥檚 been extended to November.
NMED, in a press release on Friday, said the extension will ensure 鈥渂roader participation and input in the rulemaking process.鈥�
To do this, the agency will host a series of stakeholder roundtables with employers, employees, medical and insurance professionals, and 鈥渧arious associations鈥� this summer.
Currently, there are no federal regulations to protect workers from heat related illness and injury. President Trump, amid a slew of Executive Orders, paused work on a .
Despite some lingering questions on the feasibility of the proposal鈥檚 implementation, Matutes sees a potential challenge in training workers who face language barriers or illiteracy.
鈥淭hat's the $64,000 question,鈥� Matutes said. 鈥淭he problem is there are these physiological ramifications to excessive heat that perhaps the workers themselves don't fully understand.鈥�
While advocates are antsy for some type of worker protections, industry interests oppose them.
鈥淭he requirements for the proposed rule are unclear and overly burdensome.鈥� wrote Raymond G. Sanchez, Vice President of Operations for the New Mexico Gas Co. in a .
Another utility provider, El Paso Electric, said that the rule would trigger control measures that 鈥渕ay not be necessary鈥� in a state where employees are already acclimated to working in hot conditions.
Whitney Holland, President of the , also supports implementing the rule for teachers statewide. She says heat isn鈥檛 just causing school staff to get sick, .
鈥淚t's not just workers being whiny, it's a real issue,鈥� Holland said. 鈥淚 want us to have that awareness that it's going to be okay if we do something to improve the lives of workers.鈥�
The National Weather Service names heat as the . According to the New Mexico Department of Health, state emergency rooms had at least attributed to heat.
