APOPKA, Fla. – Working outdoors in Central Florida can be more than exhausting, it’s dangerous. Apopka has many farms that hire workers to be outdoors in extreme heat.
“It’s brutal, it’s exhausting, it’s painful, they get nauseous, they get cramps, they get headaches, they faint,” said Ernesto Ruiz, describing the heat-related difficulties of the farm workers he represents at The Farmworker Association of Florida.
The nonprofit organization based in Apopka has over 10,000 members. Ruiz says they are often mistreated.
“Sometimes when they faint or they see their colleagues come about, their crews are telling them ‘come on, get up, go, we have a quota to meet.’”
Farm workers, delivery and construction workers, and landscapers are just a few jobs that require working in extreme temperatures with few employee protections.
President Biden is proposing new rules to address excessive heat in the workplace. If finalized, the measure would protect an estimated 36 million U.S. workers from injuries related to heat exposure on the job. It would be the first major federal safety standard of its kind.
“...Extreme heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States,” Biden said.
That’s a sharp contrast to the Florida Legislature, which passed legislation preventing local governments from requiring heat protections for outdoor workers. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law in April.
If finalized, the Biden administration’s rule would override state standards.
Roxana Chicas is a nurse and assistant professor at Emory University in Georgia.
She and her team have been collaborating with the Farmworker’s Association on a study of heat-related illnesses in outdoor farm workers.
“The average body temperature is 98.6... Farm workers are exceeding that 98.6 and going above the threshold of a fever which is 100.4,″ Chicas said.
Under the proposed rule, employers would be required to identify heat hazards, develop emergency response plans related to heat illness, and provide training to employees and supervisors on the signs and symptoms of such illnesses.
They would also have to establish rest breaks and provide shade and water.
Ruiz says he is waiting to see if there is strong enforcement of the rules, otherwise, he fears the worker will still face difficult working conditions.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is handling the rule proposal, which will be posted for public comment in the coming days on Regulations.gov.
The new rules are not expected to take effect until the middle of 2026.
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