Georgia CommonsHR 209: General Assembly; Workplace Safety and Heat Protection Act; urge passage
Last action February 12, 2025 · House Second Readers
A Georgia House resolution urges the General Assembly to pass a separate bill, LC 46 0977, the Workplace Safety and Heat Protection Act, to create heat safety rules for workers in high-heat jobs.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the resolution and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
This resolution does not itself create any new law. Instead, it formally urges the Georgia General Assembly to pass a different, not-yet-introduced piece of legislation known by its drafting number, LC 46 0977, called the Workplace Safety and Heat Protection Act. The resolution lays out reasons for supporting that future bill: extreme heat risks to workers, rising numbers of dangerously hot days in Georgia, higher injury rates in high-heat conditions, and gaps in federal OSHA rules. The resolution describes what LC 46 0977 would include if passed: a heat illness prevention program covering access to water, shaded rest areas, mandatory rest breaks, risk assessments, employee training, and emergency response plans. It directs the Clerk of the House to send copies of the resolution to the Governor, the Commissioner of Labor, and all members of the General Assembly.
What the bill does
- Formally urges the Georgia General Assembly to pass a separate bill, LC 46 0977, the Workplace Safety and Heat Protection Act.
- Does not itself impose any workplace heat safety requirements; it only expresses support for future legislation.
- Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to send copies of the resolution to the Governor, the Commissioner of Labor, and all General Assembly members.
- Describes the heat protections the referenced bill would include, such as water access, shaded rest areas, mandatory breaks, risk assessments, training, and emergency response plans.
Who it affects
The resolution names workers in agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and warehousing as most affected by extreme heat, along with over 425,000 Georgia workers in high-risk industries. It also directs action toward the Governor, the Commissioner of Labor, and General Assembly members.
Why it matters
Because this is a resolution rather than a bill creating law, it changes nothing about workplace rules on its own. Its practical effect is to put political pressure on lawmakers to take up and pass the separate Workplace Safety and Heat Protection Act, which would set actual heat safety requirements for employers.
Key provisions
- The resolution's whereas clauses cite statistics on heat-related workplace injuries, deaths, and the number of Georgia workers in high-risk industries.
- The resolved clause urges the General Assembly to 'swiftly pass' LC 46 0977, the Workplace Safety and Heat Protection Act.
- A further resolved clause directs the Clerk of the House to distribute copies to the Governor, the Commissioner of Labor, and all members of the General Assembly.
- The resolution notes federal OSHA regulations do not currently mandate sufficient workplace heat protections in Georgia.
From the bill
“the members of this body urge the Georgia General Assembly to swiftly pass LC 46 0977, the Workplace Safety and Heat Protection Act, to protect Georgia's workers from the dangers of extreme heat exposure”
“workers in high-heat conditions are 50 percent more likely to suffer from workplace injuries, and heat-related deaths in the United States have increased by nearly 60 percent over the past two decades”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
- Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)
- Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)
- Sheila Jones (D, HD-060)
- Lydia Glaize (D, HD-067)
Topics
- workplace safety
- heat protection
- labor law
- occupational health