New Mexico Is the Latest State Developing Standards to Protect Workers in Extreme Heat

Farm workers in southern New Mexico get to work hours before dawn during heat waves to harvest chile peppers. Oilfield workers don heavy gear, despite the heat, to drive to remote drilling sites spread across the state’s Permian Basin. Teachers make do in classrooms with failing air conditioning.

New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau is seeking better protections for these workers as the Land of Enchantment gets hotter. The proposed heat protection rule was introduced this spring. The bureau, which is part of the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), accepted comments on the proposed rule during three outreach events this week. The state’s environmental improvement board will hold a public hearing for the rule in July and, if adopted, it will go into effect in August.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed a federal rule to prevent heat injuries and illness under the Biden administration, but it is unlikely to progress during the Trump presidency. New Mexico would be the eighth state to adopt standards to protect workers from extreme heat, following states like California and Oregon. Advocates in New Mexico say it’s time for the state to adopt its own rule, as temperatures climb.