State Labor Cabinet reminds employers to protect employees as heat indexes hit triple digits and a hot workweek is forecast

CDC photo

As heat indexes went well into the triple digits Monday and weather forecasts predicted a hot workweek, the state Labor Cabinet reminded employers to protect employees working in hot conditions.

Labor Secretary Jamie Link urged employers to "establish a heat illness prevention plan, closely monitor workers in hot indoor and outdoor environments, and learn how to recognize and treat various heat-related illnesses," a cabinet press release said.

“Employers are responsible for providing safe workplaces free of known hazards, and that includes extreme heat conditions,” Link said in the release. “Asking workers to perform physically exhausting work in dangerously hot conditions without providing breaks, water and shade can result in serious illness and even death.”

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends regular water, rest and shade breaks for those working in hot environments, outdoors or indoors. OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health have free mobile application for Android and iPhone users that provides real-time heat index information and hourly forecasts by location, as well as occupational safety guidance and health recommendations. The tool can be found on Google Play and in Apple’s App Store.

Kentucky's program provides free, confidential heat exposure assessments by request, and offers a Heat Stress Awareness training module on its website. The cabinet is offering a class on heat stress during a population center training event June 21-24 in Frankfort.