OSHA issues updated workplace heat directive for employers
With temperatures on the rise all across the nation, employers need to stay on top of workplace heat issues to protect workers from preventable heat-related illnesses and injuries. In April 2026, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) issued an updated directive designed to encourage early interventions by employers to guard against hazardous heat exposure in both outdoor and indoor work settings.
Heat-related injury industries
In its revised National Emphasis Program, Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards, OSHA identified 55 “high hazard” industries for heat-related injuries, including construction, agriculture, numerous types of manufacturing, department stores, general freight trucking, grocery and merchant wholesalers, and electric power generation, transmission and distribution. OSHA’s directive emphasizes workplace inspections and prioritizes those inspections to occur under the following circumstances:
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When OSHA has received information about heat-related hazards at an employer;
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When the heat index is 80 degrees or above—“heat priority days”; or
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When the National Weather Service announces a heat warning or advisory for an area.
How to prepare for OSHA inspection