States in the South, Midwest, and on the West Coast experienced extreme heat in the last two weeks of August 2026, highlighting the need for employers to comply with the federal Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act and state laws regarding heat illness prevention in the workplace.

Quick Hits

• Extreme heat hit at least ten states during the last two weeks of August 2026.
• Employers are legally obligated to provide a workplace free of hazards that could cause serious harm or death, including heat hazards.
• A growing number of states have adopted heat illness prevention laws.

Parts of Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee experienced temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the last weeks of summer. As a result, parts of those states were under heat advisories, according to the National Weather Service.

Federal and State Action

Federal law does not have a permanent heat illness prevention standard, but employers are required under the OSH Act’s general duty clause to provide a workplace free of hazards that can cause serious harm or death, including indoor and outdoor heat hazards.

On April 10, 2026, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) updated its national emphasis program (NEP) for indoor and outdoor heat hazard prevention, providing new citation guidance and adding twenty-two industries targeted for enforcement. To prevent heat illness among workers, OSHA recommends strategies like providing adequate water, increasing rest breaks, making work shifts shorter, slowing down physical activity, and training supervisors to recognize the signs of heat illness, such as heavy sweating, dizziness, vomiting, and confusion.

Meanwhile, several states and localities, including California, Maryland, New York City, and Oregon, have their own heat illness prevention rules that employers must follow.

Next Steps

Employers may wish to monitor indoor and outdoor temperatures and quickly address heat-related hazards. Employers also may want to consider developing or updating their written heat illness prevention program.

Employers are required to report certain work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities, including those related to heat. For example, if a worker needs inpatient hospital care due to work-related heat exposure, the employer must report the incident to OSHA. Employers are required to report an inpatient hospitalization within twenty-four hours and a fatality within eight hours.

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