Much of New York is currently under a state of emergency because of a blistering heat wave. We are about to break a 125-year record. State and local authorities have clear recommendations for staying safe: Stay hydrated. Avoid strenuous outdoor activities. Find places to cool down.

Unfortunately, for many workers, it’s not so simple. Think about farmworkers, construction workers, delivery workers and mail carriers. People working indoors in warehouses or restaurant kitchens without air conditioning.

They have no choice but to work through the heat. They may get water or breaks, but then again, they may not. It depends on their employer’s good intentions and the ability of overstretched agencies to enforce currently vague rules about hazards when it comes to heat.

This situation is not just uncomfortable. It’s deadly: Heat illness kills more people than any other weather hazard, and because of climate change, the number of U.S. workers dying from the heat has doubled since the 1990s.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates that around 559 workers are killed annually by heat, and nearly 25,000 experience heat-related injuries or illness. (Workplace injuries also sharply rise when temperatures do, which makes sense: A worker is more likely to fall, for example, when they’re overheated and operating with lower physical and mental capacity).

This is why we urgently need laws on workplace heat. Ideally, such requirements would be enacted at the federal level — and a Biden-era rule is currently being considered — but given the Trump administration and hostile federal courts, we should not cross our fingers and hope for the best.

New York and states nationwide should swiftly enact sensible heat rules that will save lives and prevent avoidable injuries and illness. (And if those humanitarian goals don’t move you, heat rules are also smart for business: they can save employers money, by avoiding needless workers’ compensation claims and unexpected employee absences).

The measures needed to keep workers safe are surprisingly basic and can be summarized in a few words: water, rest, shade or cooling, training, prevention plan, gradual acclimatization. What does this mean? Providing water, shade or A/C and rest breaks. Training workers and supervisors about preventing heat illness, and having a plan to prevent it and to recognize and respond if it occurs. Finally, gradually acclimatizing workers to laboring in extreme heat, instead of expecting people to work full-steam on the first few blazing hot days of the summer.

It’s not that different from what parents have to do when taking their kids to the beach: bring water, shade, make sure the kids rest, and don’t stay too long if it’s way too hot. We can actually do this.

A number of states, including California, Oregon, and Maryland, have already enacted rules requiring employers to take these steps. These laws are effective: in Oregon, for example, there were 109 heat-related deaths in 2021 before a state rule was enacted, and then 22 deaths in 2022 and just eight in 2023.

Right now, there are active campaigns for workplace heat protections in 16 states, and a national initiative, Fired Up for Heat Justice, is helping them coordinate, including holding a week of action earlier this month.

Here in New York, we’ve seen little action on the Temp Act, a bill to create sensible heat protections and keep workers safe throughout the state. Across the river in New Jersey, a similar bill is pending; perhaps the current heat wave will help lawmakers understand the urgent need for action. Even where legislative sessions have ended, policymakers can explore the possibility of using the regulatory process to require workplace heat protections.

Even in challenging political environments, workers are fighting for change. In Florida, where local governments are preempted from instituting sensible heat protections, workers are organizing to pressure employers to sign codes of conduct that protect their workforces. In their efforts, they’re following the lead of the Fair Food Program, which protects many of the workers who grow your tomatoes. In Louisiana, parents and school bus drivers are organizing to protect children and drivers from overheating on school buses due to a lack of air conditioning.

The temperature hit 100 degrees yesterday for the first time since 2012. Rarely is policy so straightforward and life-saving; this one is a no-brainer. New York and all states should take action to protect workers from deadly heat on the job. Even machines break down in this heat, and people are not machines.

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