Trump freezes OSHA heat protections affecting 36 million workers

The Trump administration froze the Occupational Safety and Health Administration heat illness prevention rulemaking on Inauguration Day, halting a Biden-era proposed rule that would have established federal heat safety standards for outdoor and indoor workers. The freeze affected an estimated 36 million workers in agriculture, construction, landscaping, and warehousing who lacked any federal heat safety protections. OSHA had been developing the heat rule since 2021 after record heat deaths among farmworkers.