Chris Nickels Featured in Industrial Safety & Hygiene News Article on OSHA's Proposed Heat Rule

Chris Nickels, a partner in the Quarles & Brady Labor & Employment Practice Group, was quoted in an Industrial Safety & Hygiene News article about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) proposed heat stress rule that aims to protect workers from hazardous thermal environments.

Nickels remarked that the contentious aspects of the rule are likely to be administrative elements, such as assigning dedicated staff for temperature monitoring and record-keeping, and the acclimation requirement, which could lead to non-productive work time. He also mentioned that the most crucial advice for employers navigating this evolving regulatory landscape is to be proactive. Businesses operating in hot work environments, whether indoors or outdoors, should already be actively addressing heat hazards.

Below is an excerpt:

As heat waves become more frequent and intense across the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is pressing forward with its proposed heat stress rule, aiming to protect workers from hazardous thermal environments. A recent interview with a Chris Nickels, an attorney and partner at Quarles & Brady, provided insights into the current status of the rule, its most contentious elements, and what employers can expect in the coming years.

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Nickels said the most contentious aspects of the rule are likely to be administrative elements, such as assigning dedicated staff for temperature monitoring and record-keeping, and the acclimation requirement, which could lead to non-productive work time. While providing water and training are not seen as major issues, outdoor and transient agricultural workers, as well as manufacturers with unrecognized indoor heat hazards, are expected to face the most significant challenges, he said.

Nickels also said that a common employer oversight is underestimating how hot environments, especially indoors or in trailers, can become.

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“Some of us are a little surprised to see the rule still alive,” Nickels said. “We weren't sure what was going to happen when the Trump administration was incoming.”

But he said, legal challenges are not anticipated prior to the rule's issuance.

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The most crucial advice for employers navigating this evolving regulatory landscape is to be proactive, Nickels said. Businesses operating in hot work environments, whether indoors or outdoors, should already be actively addressing heat hazards. By doing so now, these employers may only need to make relatively minimal adjustments to their existing practices if, and when, OSHA's heat stress rule becomes final, positioning them for smoother compliance and, more importantly, a safer environment for their workforce.