Bill
S 1355
Massachusetts bill would create a statewide standard requiring employers to assess temperature hazards and implement controls, training, accommodations to prevent heat and cold ill
Note on materials provided
- The documents you supplied contain conflicting metadata. The header lists S 1355 as a bill “authoriz the village of Canton to reduce the speed limit,” and a sponsor list with federal senators (Bill Cassidy, Mike Crapo, James Risch). The full bill text, however, is a Massachusetts state Senate filing (Senate Docket No. 1531 / Senate No. 1355) titled an Act to establish extreme temperature worker protections and would add a new §204 to Chapter 149 of the Massachusetts General Laws.
- Below I summarize the substantive bill text included in your materials (the Massachusetts “extreme temperature worker protections” bill). If you intended the speed‑limit bill, please provide its full text or correct metadata.
Purpose
- Establish minimum worker protections against extreme heat and cold by adding a new Section 204 to Chapter 149 of the Massachusetts General Laws. The bill aims to reduce heat‑ and cold‑related occupational illness, injury, and death by requiring employers to evaluate temperature-related hazards and implement specific controls, training, and accommodations.
Key provisions and requirements
- New statutory definitions: employee, employer, indoor/outdoor worksite, heat/cold illness, PPE, acclimatization, administrative control, and temperature stress thresholds.
- Outdoor and indoor “temperature stress thresholds”: heat at 80°F or above; cold at 60°F or below.
- Indoor temperature ranges in regulated indoor spaces: when outdoor <55°F, indoor 68.5–75°F; when outdoor >85°F, indoor 75–80.5°F.
- Employer scope: covers private and public sector workers, part‑time, independent contractors, day laborers, farmworkers, staffing‑agency workers, delivery and transport workers — regardless of immigration status.
- Hazard assessment and controls: employers must evaluate temperature and contributing factors (workload, radiant heat, humidity, air movement, PPE) and implement a plan using engineering, administrative, and personal protective measures to reduce temperature exposure.
- Administrative controls and acclimatization: examples include acclimatization plans (initial exposure limited to ~20% of usual duration and increasing ~20% per day; typical acclimatization 7–14 workdays), work/rest schedules, rotating employees, scheduling tasks to avoid peak heat/cold exposure.
- PPE thresholds: when engineering and administrative controls cannot maintain conditions below specified levels (text references maintaining heat index/temperature below 87°F when employees present, or below 82°F where clothing restricts heat removal or in high radiant heat areas), employers must provide personal heat protective equipment unless infeasible.
- Required provisions (excerpted/presumed from preamble): paid rest breaks, adequate shade or warmth, drinking water, and training for supervisors and staff.
Who is affected
- All employers and employees operating in Massachusetts as defined in the bill: indoor and outdoor worksites including temporary and seasonal jobs, contractors/subcontractors, staffing placements, delivery and transport workers.
Procedural status (from supplied actions)
- Filed in the Massachusetts Senate (Senate Docket No. 1531 / Senate No. 1355) with Representative Liz Miranda and co‑petitions noted in the filing.
- Referred to the Massachusetts Committee on Labor and Workforce Development (date in materials: 2025‑02‑27).
- Hearing scheduled (per materials) for 06/18/2025, 1:00–4:00 PM in room B‑1.
- Materials also list other, conflicting procedural entries (referrals to Transportation; read twice and referred to Environment & Public Works) which appear inconsistent with the Massachusetts filing.
Implications and next steps
- If enacted, the bill would create a statewide statutory standard for employer obligations regarding heat and cold exposure, likely requiring new compliance measures (workplace assessments, training, acclimatization procedures, PPE procurement, scheduling changes).
- Implementation details (enforcement mechanisms, inspection authority, penalties, employer reporting requirements) are not included in the excerpt provided; those details would determine enforcement and compliance costs.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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