---
title: HR 209. General Assembly; Workplace Safety and Heat Protection Act; urge passage
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hr209
cite_as: HR 209, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr209
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr209.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr209/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70108
date: 2025-02-12
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr208.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr210.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr209.md?full=1
bill_number: HR 209
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2025-02-10
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
  - Kim Schofield
  - Dewey McClain
  - Sandra Scott
  - Sheila Jones
  - Lydia Glaize
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR209/2025
upstream_id: 1964499
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - workplace safety
  - heat protection
  - labor law
  - occupational health
---

# HR 209. General Assembly; Workplace Safety and Heat Protection Act; urge passage

## Text

House Resolution 209
By: Representatives Schofield of the 63rd, McClain of the 109th, Scott of the 76th, Jones of the
60th, and Glaize of the 67th
A RESOLUTION
Urging the Georgia General Assembly to pass LC 46 0977, the Workplace Safety and Heat
Protection Act, to ensure critical protections for workers facing extreme heat conditions; and
for other purposes.
WHEREAS, extreme heat poses severe health risks to workers, including heat exhaustion,
heat stroke, and other life-threatening heat-related illnesses, disproportionately affecting
employees in high-exposure industries such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and
warehousing; and
WHEREAS, Georgia is experiencing increasingly extreme heat conditions, with an average
of 20 more dangerously hot days per year compared to historical averages—a number
projected to rise due to climate change, increasing the urgency for legislative action; and
WHEREAS, studies show that 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, underscoring the escalating dangers of
unregulated heat exposure in the workplace; and
WHEREAS, Georgia has over 425,000 workers employed in high-risk industries vulnerable
to extreme heat, many of whom are low-income and lack access to sufficient workplace
protections, putting their livelihoods and well-being at risk; and
WHEREAS, federal regulations under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) do not currently provide sufficient mandates to address workplace heat exposure,
leaving Georgia workers without adequate safeguards against extreme temperatures; and
WHEREAS, failure to pass LC 46 0977 would expose thousands of Georgia workers to
preventable heat-related illnesses and fatalities, leading to increased medical costs, lost
wages, decreased productivity, and strain on emergency medical services, all of which
negatively impact Georgia's economy and workforce; and
WHEREAS, implementing a heat illness prevention program, as outlined in LC 46 0977,
would provide necessary workplace protections, including access to water, shaded areas,
mandatory rest breaks, risk assessments, employee training, and emergency response plans,
ensuring the safety and well-being of Georgia's workforce.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that
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 and to establish Georgia as a national leader in worker safety and
well-being.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized
and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the
Governor, the Commissioner of Labor, and all members of the Georgia General Assembly.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary.

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.

### Plain-language summary

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 it 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.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2025-02-10)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-12)
- Sponsors: Kim Schofield, Dewey McClain, Sandra Scott, Sheila Jones, Lydia Glaize
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70108

> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr209.md?full=1