DARK SECRETS: When will texas workers finally get protections from heat exposure | Vintage Vibes

For more than a decade, Democratic U.S. Representative Greg Casar, an ex-Austin City Council member now representing a House district that stretches down to San Antonio, has been fighting to protect workers from extreme heat. From 2011 to 2022, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 479 workers in the United States died from heat exposure while nearly 34,000 suffered heat-related illnesses or injuries while on the job. But those numbers are likely massive undercounts: The nonprofit Public Citizen has estimated that up to 2,000 deaths and 170,000 injuries occur annually from workplace heat exposure. 

As temperatures continue to rise each summer with climate change, some relief may be on the horizon. In July, the Biden administration announced a proposed Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule that aims to protect millions of workers from heat exposure. The rule is long-awaited by the nation’s worker safety advocates and is especially relevant in Texas, which pairs scorching summers with an absence of mandated protections such as regular rest breaks. The Texas Observer spoke with Casar about what workers can expect from the rule and when it will take effect.