Protecting Workers from Extreme Heat: Law and Policy for a Changing Climate
March 9, 2026
Overview
What legal authority exists to protect workers from extreme heat? In July 2024, the Network for Public Health Law released Law and Policy Considerations for Workforce Protections from Extreme Heat. The guide provides a foundation for public agencies, advocates, and coalitions seeking to design or strengthen worker-heat protections and exemplifies how public health law can operationalize equity in the face of environmental change, ensuring that those most exposed to harm are also the first protected by law.
As record-breaking heat waves became a recurring threat across the U.S., public health and labor agencies faced an urgent question: what legal authority exists to protect workers from extreme heat? In July 2024, the Network for Public Health Law released Law and Policy Considerations for Workforce Protections from Extreme Heat, one of the first comprehensive legal and policy guides to help jurisdictions navigate that uncertainty.
The publication addressed a critical national gap. While heat is now the leading weather-related cause of death in the country, only a handful of states have enforceable worker-heat standards, and no comprehensive federal rule yet exists. The Network’s guide synthesized federal, state, and local legal tools and examined how preemption laws, administrative authority, and environmental justice frameworks affect workforce protections.
The guide provides a foundation for public agencies, advocates, and coalitions seeking to design or strengthen worker-heat protections. By translating complex legal authority into clear, actionable strategies, the Network is helping governments and partners move beyond reactive emergency responses toward proactive, equitable systems of climate resilience.
This work exemplifies how public health law can operationalize equity in the face of environmental change, ensuring that those most exposed to harm are also the first protected by law.