While many of us are sweating it out during the record heat this summer, Donald Trump and his GOP minions have been working – in their air-conditioned offices, no doubt – to undo Biden-era rules designed to protect workers without that luxury.
“The Trump administration is moving to rewrite Biden-era rules that would mandate breaks and access to water and shade for workers,” The New York Times reported on Saturday. Not to be undone in the pro-death department, “Congress is considering legislation that would go a step further, prohibiting the Labor Department from adopting the Biden-era heat plan or similar rules.” On top of all that, Trump’s “Occupational Safety and Health Administration is curtailing workplace inspections that President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s appointees had increased to raise awareness of heat-related illnesses.”
There are hundreds of heat-related deaths in workplaces each year. The count was at least 530 in 2024, The Times reported, based on data from the AFL-CIO.
Not surprisingly, those who are most vulnerable are probably the least likely to report life-threatening conditions. The heat is most extreme in fields and warehouses, The Times notes, but Trump’s Gestapo-like roundups of immigrants have created the kind of atmosphere that discourages employees from complaining.