HR393: HR393 General Assembly; enact Workplace Safety and Heat Protection Act; urge

This resolution does not create new law itself. Instead, it urges the Georgia General Assembly to enact a separate bill, the Workplace Safety and Heat Protection Act (LC 46 0977), aimed at protecting workers from extreme heat on the job. The resolution describes rising health and economic risks from heat exposure, especially in construction, manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, and warehousing. It asks lawmakers to define extreme heat as a heat index above 80 degrees Fahrenheit, or another threshold set by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration as of January 1, 2025, and to require employers to adopt heat illness prevention programs covering training, prevention, and emergency response. The resolution directs the House Clerk to send copies to the Governor, the Commissioner of Labor, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and all General Assembly members.

• Formally urges the General Assembly to enact a separate bill, the Workplace Safety and Heat Protection Act (LC 46 0977).
• Recommends defining extreme heat as a workplace heat index above 80 degrees Fahrenheit or a federal OSHA threshold as of January 1, 2025.
• Recommends requiring employers to adopt heat illness prevention programs covering training, prevention, and emergency response for workers in extreme heat.
• Directs the House Clerk to distribute copies of the resolution to the Governor, the Commissioner of Labor, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and all legislators.
• Does not itself create any enforceable legal requirement, since it is a resolution expressing the House's position rather than a law.

The resolution names workers in construction, manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, and warehousing as most exposed to heat risks. It also references employers in those industries, the Governor, the Commissioner of Labor, and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce as recipients of the resolution.

If the referenced Workplace Safety and Heat Protection Act were later passed, outdoor and industrial workers could gain rest breaks, hydration access, and employer heat prevention plans. As a resolution, this document itself changes nothing legally but signals House support for such rules.

• The preamble (whereas clauses) describes health risks like heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and cardiovascular strain, and economic harms from lost wages and productivity.
• The resolved clause urges enactment of the Workplace Safety and Heat Protection Act (LC 46 0977) to set enforceable workplace heat protection standards.
• Provision (1) proposes defining extreme heat as a heat index over 80 degrees Fahrenheit or another OSHA-set threshold as of January 1, 2025.
• Provision (2) proposes requiring employers to implement heat illness prevention programs including training and emergency response procedures.
• The final clause directs the House Clerk to send copies to the Governor, the Commissioner of Labor, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and General Assembly members.

1. 2025-02-28House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-27House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-26House Hopper (House)

• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)Primary sponsor
• Viola Davis (D, HD-087)
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)
• Derrick Jackson (D, HD-068)
• Karla Drenner (D, HD-085)
• Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)

• workplace safety
• heat protection
• labor law
• occupational health