California is poised to protect workers from extreme heat – indoors

The stifling heat inside some warehouses where workers might spend 10-hour days isn’t just a summer problem. In Southern California, it can feel like summer all year.

It’s easy to break into a sweat and grow tired, workers say. The ventilation feels inconsistent, they say, and workers have testified in a public hearing about nosebleeds, nausea and dizziness. In some warehouses, the walk to find a place to cool down is at least half a mile.

“We are in constant motion. Throughout the day, my shirt is soaked in sweat three to four times,” said Sara Fee, a former worker at an Amazon warehouse in San Bernardino, California, who testified before a state workplace safety board in May. “I have been nauseous, dizzy.”

As the climate warms and the threat of extreme heat spreads, California is poised to protect people who work in poorly ventilated warehouses, steamy restaurant kitchens, and other indoor job sites where temperatures can soar to potentially dangerous levels. The state has had heat standards on the books for outdoor workers since 2005, and indoor workplaces are next.