OSHA Guidelines for Working Conditions
Employers are responsible for protecting workers from temperature extremes. This includes:
• Monitoring indoor conditions and adjusting heating, ventilation, or air conditioning as needed
• Providing access to potable water and cool-down areas if temperatures rise significantly
• Implementing work/rest cycles or other administrative controls in environments where heat exposure is a recognized hazard, such as commercial kitchens or outdoor work
For extreme conditions, OSHA’s scrutiny increases. Heat-related hazards, including heat exhaustion and heatstroke, require preventive measures such as training, acclimatization, and engineering controls. Cold stress in unheated warehouses or outdoor winter work can lead to hypothermia or frostbite, and employers must take steps to mitigate these risks.
Key Takeaways
• No strict legal temperature standard exists for offices; OSHA focuses on recognized hazards.
• Recommended comfort range: 68°F–76°F with 20%–60% humidity.
• Extreme temperatures that pose health risks may trigger enforcement under the General Duty Clause.
• Employers should consider employee comfort, feedback, and environmental factors to maintain a safe and productive workplace.
Additional Research:
Extreme Heat and Suicide Watch Incidents Among Incarcerated Men
Extreme heat poses a distinct risk to the 2.1 million incarcerated people in the United States, who have disparately high rates of behavioral health conditions. Suicide is a leading cause of death among people in prisons. Findings from this study suggest an association between extreme heat and an indicator of suicidality among an incarcerated sample, contribute to an emerging literature exploring linkages between climatological events and health outcomes in prisons, and may have implications for legal interventions and advocacy seeking to abate heat-induced morbidity and mortality in carceral contexts.
Heat-related Mortality in U.S. State and Private Prisons: A Case-crossover Analysis
The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world with more than 2.2 million people living behind bars daily and an estimated 10.3 million people passing through the U.S. incarceration system annually. However, there is a lack of epidemiologic literature on the association between elevated temperature and excess mortality among this vulnerable population. This study aimed to investigate the effect of heat on mortality among people held in U.S. state and private prisons between 2001–2019.
Inmates with Heat-Sensitive Health Conditions: Surveying Prisoner Litigation
This article analyzes cases from the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals in which inmates challenged the constitutionality of their conditions of confinement in extremely hot facilities pursuant Title 42 U.S. Code Section 1983. An inductive analysis of caselaw revealed two themes: inmates with heat-sensitive health conditions and reasonable staff responses to inmate's heat exposure. The article concludes by offering policy guidance to prison officials based on the themes revealed in the circuit court decisions and by providing recommendations for future research.
An Overlooked Crisis: Extreme Temperature Exposures in Incarceration Settings
There is a knowledge gap on the impact of extreme temperatures on incarcerated people and their health. Incarcerated people are classified as a vulnerable population because of the social and economic disenfranchisement caused by mass incarceration, which may increase their susceptibility to adverse health outcomes. They have limited mobility and suffer from a disproportionate amount of mental health and medical comorbidities that are exacerbated by exposure to extreme temperatures. Furthermore, because extreme temperatures are a hallmark of climate change, we expect this vulnerable population’s exposure to only increase. However, there is very little evidence on the health effects of extreme temperature exposure in incarcerated populations held in the United States. We summarize the literature and call for more research in this area.
Provision of Air Conditioning and Heat-Related Mortality in Texas Prisons
In this case-crossover study of 3464 deaths in Texas prison, a 1-degree increase above 85 °F in prisons without air conditioning was associated with a 0.7% increase in the risk of daily mortality. Approximately, 13% of deaths in Texas prisons during warm months between 2001 and 2019 may be attributable to extreme heat days. This study found an average of 14 deaths per year between 2001 to 2019 were associated with heat in Texas prisons without AC vs no deaths associated with heat in prisons with AC. Adopting an AC policy in Texas prisons may be important for protecting the health of one of our most vulnerable populations.
Unsafe Temperatures, Unsafe Jobs: The Impact of Weather Conditions on Work-related Injuries
We estimate the impact of temperatures on work-related accident rates in Italy by using daily data on weather conditions matched to administrative daily data on work-related accidents. The identification strategy of the causal effect relies on the plausible exogeneity of short-term daily temperature variations in a given spatial unit. We find that both high and cold temperatures impair occupational health by increasing workplace injury rates. The positive effect of warmer weather conditions on work-related accident rates is larger for men and for workplace injuries. Older workers and jobs in the service sector are instead affected less. Colder temperatures lead to a substantial increase in commuting accidents, especially on rainy days.
