House Bill 1071
By: Representatives Schofield of the 63rd, McClain of the 109th, Davis of the 87th, Scott of
the 76th, Holly of the 116th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 2 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
Department of Labor, so as to provide for protections for employees from occupational heat
exposure; to provide for definitions; to require employers to implement heat illness
prevention programs; to provide for exemptions; to provide for the Department of Labor to
launch a public awareness campaign; to provide for multilingual information and templates
to be made available on the department website; to provide for enforcement and civil
monetary penalties; to provide for settlement agreements and corrective action plans; to
provide for the establishment of a grant program; to provide for annual reporting; to provide
for data collection and sharing; to provide for rules and regulations; to provide for related
matters; to provide for a short title; to provide for legislative findings; to repeal conflicting
laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Workplace Safety and Heat
Protection Act."
SECTION 2.
The General Assembly finds that:
(1) Extreme heat poses significant risks to workers, including heat rash, heat cramps, heat
syncope, rhabdomyolysis, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and death;
(2) Outdoor and indoor workers in high-temperature environments are disproportionately
affected by extreme heat, particularly in agriculture, landscaping, construction,
manufacturing, and warehousing sectors;
(3) Occupational heat exposure can occur in urban areas, primarily due to less vegetation
and more asphalt and concrete, and in rural areas, primarily due to strenuous physical labor
and lack of availability of emergency healthcare;
(4) Federal legislation is not, at present, sufficient to protect Georgia workers from
extreme heat workplace conditions; and
(5) Legislation in this state is needed to protect workers from extreme heat workplace
conditions.
SECTION 3.
Chapter 2 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Department
of Labor, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"34-2-10.1.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Commissioner' means the Commissioner of Labor of the State of Georgia.
(2) 'Dangerous heat index trigger' means conditions when the heat index exceeds 90
degrees Fahrenheit or other thresholds as determined by rules and regulations
promulgated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and in effect
on January 1, 2026.
(3) 'Department' means the Department of Labor.
</ins>
<ins>(4) 'Employee' means any person who works for salary, wages, or other remuneration for
an employer.
(5) 'Employer' means any natural person or organization with employees covered under
the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 in effect on January 1, 2026.
(6) 'Extreme heat environment' means conditions when the heat index exceeds 80
degrees Fahrenheit or a Wet Bulb Globe Temperature in excess of 78.8 degrees
Fahrenheit.
(7) 'Heat illness' means any medical condition resulting from the inability of the body to
cope with a particular heat load. Such term includes but is not limited to heat rash, heat
cramps, heat syncope, rhabdomyolysis, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.
(8) 'Heat illness prevention program' means a program designed to mitigate heat related
risks and heat illnesses in employees through prevention, training, and emergency
response protocols provided by employers.
(9) 'High-risk worker' means any worker who is new to a job requiring physical labor
under extreme heat conditions, pregnant or postpartum, over the age of 60, or diagnosed
with a chronic illness affecting thermoregulation, including cardiovascular, renal,
respiratory, or endocrine conditions.
(10) 'Initial heat index trigger' means conditions when the heat index exceeds 80 degrees
Fahrenheit or other thresholds as determined by rules and regulations promulgated by the
federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration in effect on January 1, 2026.
(11) 'Large employer' means any person or entity that employs more than 25 full-time
equivalent employees. Such term shall include the State of Georgia and its political
subdivisions and instrumentalities.
(12) 'Micro-business' means any person or entity that employs five or fewer full-time
equivalent employees.
</ins>
<ins>(13) 'Nonprofit employer' means an organization that is exempt from taxation under the
provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code and that
employs one or more employees.
(14) 'Seasonal business' means any person or entity that operates for fewer than 180 days
per year.
(15) 'Small business' means any person or entity that employs between six and 25
full-time equivalent employees.
(16) 'Wet Bulb Globe Temperature' means a measure of the combined effect of air
temperature, air speed, humidity, and radiation.
(b) On or before January 1, 2027, all small businesses and large employers and, on or
before January 1, 2028, all micro-businesses, seasonal businesses, and nonprofit employers
shall implement a heat illness prevention program to protect employees of such employers
when working in an extreme heat environment. Such program shall distinguish precautions
required for initial heat index triggers, such as providing water, access to shade, and
awareness training, and precautions required for dangerous heat index triggers, such as
mandatory rest breaks, active monitoring, observation systems, and heat hazards alerts, as
established by the department in rules and regulations. Such program shall require such
employers to provide, at a minimum, the following:
(1) A written heat illness prevention plan, and such plan and any relevant signage and
training shall be provided in English and the next most common language predominantly
used by employees;
(2) Immediate access to free water, immediate access to and extended time within shaded
rest areas or areas away from an extreme heat environment, and mandatory, paid rest
breaks;
(3) Regular risk assessments of the work environment and jobs to identify and mitigate
heat hazards in the workplace and annual risk assessments of all employees and more
</ins>
<ins>frequent risk assessments of high-risk workers to reduce personal risk factors for heat
illnesses;
(4) An emergency response protocol for heat illnesses, including the provision of
immediate medical attention and evacuation procedures; and
(5) Training of supervisors and employees on heat illness awareness and prevention.
Such training shall include recognition of heat illness symptoms, heat illness prevention,
emergency response protocols, and incident reporting.
(c) Micro-businesses, seasonal businesses, and nonprofit employers with fewer than five
employees may request an exemption from the requirements provided in subsection (b) of
this Code section.
(d) The department shall promote public awareness of hazards relative to extreme heat
environments in the workplace, recommend best practices for employees and employers,
and shall provide downloadable templates of checklists for heat illness prevention
programs, multilingual heat safety posters, and multilingual training materials to support
compliance with the provisions of this Code section on the department website.
(e) The department shall monitor compliance with the provisions of this Code section
through random inspections of workplace environments and by the investigation of
complaints filed with the department.
(f) The Commissioner shall have the authority to impose civil monetary penalties of up to
$2,500.00 for each act in violation of this Code section and of up to $5,000.00 for each act
in violation of this Code section if the employer knew or reasonably should have known
that such employer was in violation of this Code section. The Commissioner is authorized
to enter into settlement agreements and corrective action plans with employers to resolve
compliance issues and secure safe working conditions for employees.
(g) Subject to appropriations, the department shall establish a grant program for the
purpose of distributing grants to support employers in rural counties with compliance with
the provisions of this Code section.
</ins>
<ins>(h) No later than December 31, 2027, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner shall
submit a report to the chairpersons of the House Committee on Industry and Labor and the
Senate Insurance and Labor Committee on the implementation and effect of this Code
section, including data on emergency room visits by employees attributed to heat illnesses,
heat illness workers' compensation claims, and occupational deaths due to heat illness,
disaggregated by region, industry, employer type, and worker status. All relevant state
agencies and employers shall cooperate in collecting and sharing data necessary for the
preparation of the reports required by this subsection.
(i) The department shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the
provisions of this Code section."
</ins> SECTION 4.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.