Employee Safety Tips: Working Outdoors in Summer Heat

Jobs that take employees outside definitely have their appeal, especially to the office-based cubicle crowd. But people whose line of work requires them to be outdoors in the hot summer months — from construction and agriculture workers to parks employees — face unique health hazards, especially with the hot conditions many have been experiencing recently. You and your employer should follow certain workplace safety steps when working outdoors when the heat index is high. Here are some summer safety tips to beat the heat safely.

Clothing and Sunscreen

Employees who are working outside in hot weather should wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing. But to avoid harmful UV rays, stick to long pants (no shorts) and long-sleeved shirts, and apply plenty of sunscreen with SPF of at least 30 to protect yourself from sunburn.

Breaks for Water and Shade

If you're an outdoor worker regularly working in the summer heat, your employer should provide you with plenty of water and frequent breaks to drink it. Drink small amounts frequently, rather than a lot of water all at once. If your work is particularly strenuous and takes place in direct sunlight, you should also be given regular work rest periods in a "shade tent" or other rest area. If any air-conditioned areas are available, opt for those even if it is only for a few minutes at a time.

Failing to allow for sufficient breaks in intense head can lead to legal liability for employers. Washington, Minnesota, California, Oregon, and Colorado have state laws on occupational heat exposure. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, a federal law, also requires that employers maintain a safe work environment, including from unsafe heat levels.

Getting Acclimated to Heat

Can you prepare yourself to work outside in the heat? NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) has some suggestions of how you can acclimate yourself using graduated work schedules adding time each day outside until your body gets used to a regular heat filled work schedule. This process will be especially important for new workers but they still need to be drinking enough water and taking regular breaks in the shade to get it to work. It is also important for employers to understand that new workers may need more breaks than veteran workers while they acclimate.

Heat Stroke and Heat Exhaustion: What to Watch Out For

The combination of high temperature, high humidity, and physical exertion that comes with some outdoor work raises the risk that workers will suffer heat stroke or heat exhaustion. Some signs of heat-related illness to watch out for are headaches, lightheadedness, confusion, irrational behavior, loss of consciousness, abnormally high body temperature, and hot, dry skin. If you or a co-worker experience any of these symptoms stop working and seek medical care immediately.

Lyme Disease, Poison Ivy, and West Nile Virus

Working in the great outdoors -- especially in the summer months -- can mean exposure to some of Mother Nature's less pleasurable offerings, including ticks that can carry Lyme Disease and other bacteria, mosquitoes that can transmit West Nile Virus, and poisonous plants that can cause skin problems. If you break out with a rash or are bitten by a bug some basic first aid should do the trick.

Extreme heat typically lasts for a short time. Make sure that you and your co-workers follow these heat safety rules to make it through.

Related Resources:

• Heat Stress: OSHA Regulations (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
• Employee Rights: Workplace Health & Safety (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
• Can I Get Worker's Comp For Heat Stroke? (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)