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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to heat illness prevention; creating 2
s. 448.112, F.S.; providing applicability; providing 3
definitions; requiring certain employers to implement 4
an outdoor heat exposure safety program that has been 5
approved by specified departments; specifying 6
requirements for the safety program; providing 7
responsibilities for certain employers and employees; 8
providing exceptions; requiring specified annual 9
training on heat illness and providing requirements 10
for such training; requiring the Department of 11
Agriculture and Consumer Services, in conjunction with 12
the Department of Health, to adopt specified rules; 13
providing an effective date. 14
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Be It Enacted by the L egislature of the State of Florida: 16
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Section 1. Section 448.112, Florida Statutes, is created 18
to read: 19
448.112 Heat illness prevention. — 20
(1) APPLICABILITY.— 21
(a) This section applies to employers in industries where 22
employees regularly perform wor k in an outdoor environment, 23
including, but not limited to, agriculture, construction, and 24
landscaping. 25
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(b) This section does not apply to an employee required to 26
work in an outdoor environment for fewer than 15 minutes per 27
hour for every hour in the emp loyee's entire workday. 28
(c) This section is supplemental to all related industry -29
specific standards. When the requirements under this section 30
offer greater protection than related industry -specific 31
standards, an employer shall comply with the requirement s of 32
this section. 33
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 34
(a) "Acclimatization" means temporary adaptation of a 35
person to work in the heat that occurs when a person is 36
gradually exposed to heat over a 2 -week period at a 20 percent 37
increase in heat exposure per day. 38
(b) "Drinking water" means potable water. The term 39
includes electrolyte -replenishing beverages that do not contain 40
caffeine. 41
(c) "Employee" means a person who performs services for 42
and under the control and direction of an em ployer for wages or 43
other remuneration. The term includes an independent contractor 44
and a farm labor contractor as defined in s. 450.28(1). 45
(d) "Employer" means an individual, a firm, a partnership, 46
an institution, a corporation, an association, or an en tity 47
listed in s. 121.021(10) which employs individuals. 48
(e) "Environmental risk factors for heat illness" means 49
working conditions that create the possibility of heat illness, 50
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including air temperature, relative humidity, radiant heat from 51
the sun and other sources, conductive heat from sources such as 52
the ground, air movement, workload severity and duration, and 53
protective clothing and equipment worn by an employee. 54
(f) "Heat illness" means a medical condition resulting 55
from the body's inability to cope with a particular heat level. 56
The term includes heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, 57
and heat stroke. 58
(g) "Outdoor environment" means a location where work 59
activities are conducted outside. The term includes locat ions 60
such as sheds, tents, greenhouses, or other structures where 61
work activities are conducted inside, but the temperature is not 62
managed by devices that reduce heat exposure and aid in cooling, 63
such as air conditioning systems. 64
(h) "Personal risk facto rs for heat illness" means factors 65
specific to an individual, including his or her age; health; 66
pregnancy; degree of acclimatization; water, alcohol, or 67
caffeine consumption; use of prescription medications; or other 68
physiological responses to heat. 69
(i) "Recovery period" means a cool -down period to reduce 70
an employee's heat exposure and aid the employee in cooling down 71
and avoiding the signs or symptoms of heat illness. 72
(j) "Shade" means an area that is not in direct sunlight. 73
(k) "Supervisor" has the same meaning as in s. 448.101. 74
(3) RESPONSIBILITIES. —An employer of employees who 75
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regularly work in an outdoor environment shall implement an 76
outdoor heat exposure safety program that has been approved by 77
the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Servi ces and the 78
Department of Health and which, at a minimum: 79
(a) Trains and informs supervisors and employees about 80
heat illness, how to protect themselves and coworkers, how to 81
recognize signs and symptoms of heat illness in themselves and 82
coworkers, and appropriate first-aid measures that can be used 83
before medical attention arrives in the event of a serious heat -84
related illness event. 85
(b) Provides preventive and first -aid measures, such as 86
loosening clothing, loosening or removing heat -retaining 87
protective clothing and equipment, accessing shade, applying 88
cool or cold water to the body, and drinking cool or cold water, 89
to address the signs or symptoms of heat illness. 90
(c) Implements the following high -heat procedures, to the 91
extent practicable, when an employer, manager, supervisor, or 92
contractor determines that the outdoor heat index equals or 93
exceeds 90 degrees Fahrenheit: 94
1. Make available an effective voice, observational, or 95
electronic communication system that allows an employee to 96
contact an employer, a manager, a supervisor, a contractor, or 97
an emergency medical services provider if necessary. 98
2. Provide a sufficient amount of cool or cold drinking 99
water at a location that is quickly and easily accessible from 100
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the area where employees work to accommodate all employees 101
throughout the workday, and remind employees throughout the 102
workday to consume such water. 103
3. Ensure that each employee takes a 10 -minute recovery 104
period every 2 hours that the employee is working in an outdoor 105
environment under high-heat conditions. The recovery period may 106
be concurrent with a meal period required by law if the timing 107
of the recovery period coincides with a required meal period. 108
(4) DRINKING WATER. —An employer shall ensure that a 109
sufficient quantity of cool o r cold, clean drinking water is at 110
all times readily accessible and free of charge to employees who 111
work in an outdoor environment. The drinking water must be 112
located as close as practicable to the areas where employees 113
work. If drinking water is not plumb ed or otherwise continuously 114
supplied, an employer must supply a sufficient quantity of 115
drinking water at the beginning of the workday so that each 116
employee has at least 1 quart of drinking water per hour for 117
every hour in the employee's entire workday. An employer may 118
supply a smaller quantity of drinking water at the beginning of 119
the workday if the employer has adequate procedures in place to 120
allow the employee access to drinking water as needed so that 121
the employee has at least 1 quart of drinking water per hour for 122
every hour in the employee's entire workday. 123
(5) ACCESS TO SHADE. — 124
(a) When a supervisor determines that the outdoor heat 125
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index equals or exceeds 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the employer must 126
maintain one or more areas with shade which are open to the air 127
or offer ventilation or cooling at all times in the area where 128
employees are working. The amount of available shade must be 129
able to accommodate all of the employees participating in a 130
given recovery period in a manner that does not place them i n 131
physical contact with one another. 132
(b) If an employee exhibits mild to moderate signs or 133
symptoms of heat illness, the employer must relieve the employee 134
from duty, provide him or her with access to shade for at least 135
15 minutes or until such signs or symptoms of heat illness have 136
abated, and monitor the employee to determine whether medical 137
attention is necessary. If such signs or symptoms do not abate 138
within such time period, the employer must seek medical 139
attention for the employee in a timely manner . If an employee 140
exhibits serious signs or symptoms of heat illness, the employer 141
must immediately seek medical attention for the employee and 142
provide first-aid measures. 143
(c) If an employer can demonstrate that it is unsafe or 144
not feasible to provide an area with shade, the employer may 145
provide alternative cooling measures as long as the employer can 146
demonstrate that such measures are at least as effective as an 147
area with shade in reducing heat exposure. 148
(6) TRAINING.—An employer shall provide annual tr aining on 149
heat illness that has been approved by the Department of 150
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Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Department of Health 151
to all employees and supervisors in the languages understood by 152
a majority of the employees and supervisors. Each employee who 153
regularly works in, or who is in the process of acclimatization 154
to, an outdoor environment must participate in the training 155
provided by the employer. Training materials must be written and 156
available in English and in all languages understood by the 157
employees and supervisors. Supervisors shall make such written 158
materials available upon request. 159
(a) Training on all of the following topics must be 160
provided to all employees who work in an outdoor environment: 161
1. The environmental risk factors for heat illn ess. 162
2. General awareness of personal risk factors for heat 163
illness and how an employee can monitor his or her own personal 164
risk factors for heat illness. 165
3. The importance of loosening clothing and loosening or 166
removing heat-retaining protective cloth ing and equipment, such 167
as nonbreathable chemical -resistant clothing and equipment, 168
during all recovery and rest periods, breaks, and meal periods. 169
4. The importance of frequent consumption of cool or cold 170
drinking water. 171
5. The concept, importance, an d methods of 172
acclimatization. 173
6. The common signs and symptoms of heat illness, 174
including, but not limited to, neurological impairment, 175
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confusion, or agitation. 176
7. The importance of an employee immediately reporting to 177
the employer, directly or through a supervisor, if the employee 178
or a coworker exhibits signs or symptoms of heat illness, and 179
the importance of receiving immediate medical attention for 180
those signs or symptoms. 181
8. The employer's outdoor heat exposure safety program and 182
related high-heat procedures. 183
(b) Training on all of the following topics must be 184
provided to all supervisors before they are authorized to 185
supervise employees who work in an outdoor environment: 186
1. Information that must be provided to employees. 187
2. Procedures that must be followed to implement an 188
outdoor heat exposure safety program. 189
3. Procedures that must be followed when an employee 190
exhibits or reports any signs or symptoms of heat illness. 191
4. Procedures that must be followed when transpor ting an 192
employee who exhibits or reports any signs or symptoms of heat 193
illness to an emergency medical services provider in a timely 194
manner. 195
(7) RULEMAKING.—The Department of Agriculture and Consumer 196
Services, in conjunction with the Department of Health , shall 197
adopt rules to implement this section, including, but not 198
limited to, approved training programs, approved trainers, and a 199
certification process to acknowledge an employer's compliance 200
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with the training requirements imposed by this section. 201
Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2025. 202