Lawmakers want USPS officials to implement proposed Biden administration heat safety rules, which include mandatory cool-down breaks. The Good Brigade / Getty Images
Several House Democrats urge USPS to implement heat safety protections for workers
The Biden administration in July issued a proposed rule to protect employees working in extreme heat, but more than 70 members of Congress want the USPS to implement those protections before the rule goes into effect.
A group of House Democrats wants the U.S. Postal Service to implement the Biden administration’s proposed heat safety rule in order to protect letter carriers.
“Postal delivery is among the most dangerous industries for heat-related illness and death, and so the Postal Service should be proactively expanding its worker protections using guidance from experts such as those at [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration], instead of waiting to be required by law to make common-sense improvements that could save your workers’ lives,” Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, wrote in a letter signed by 76 other House Democrats last week to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
OSHA in July issued a proposed rule to set requirements for working in extreme heat, which is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S. Per the rulemaking process, the public may offer comments and submit questions to clarify how the proposed rule would operate. OSHA will analyze the public comments and incorporate them into a final rule to be published later in the Federal Register.
According to the proposed rule’s text, the measure won’t go into effect until 60 days after the final rule is published and employers will have 150 days after publication to comply with it.
The members of Congress argued that USPS shouldn’t wait to apply the heat rule until it is finalized. Specifically, they wrote that the proposed standard would require an acclimatization process to build new employees’ resistance to heat, mandatory 15-minute breaks every two hours when the temperature is more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit and the provision of readily available drinking water.
USPS currently has a heat illness prevention program to educate employees on staying safe in hot weather. But the House Democrats argued the program is insufficient, pointing in a press release to five letter carriers who have died since 2018 in 90-plus degree heat, including in non-air-conditioned mail trucks.
They also referenced 2023 reporting from POLITICO on allegations that managers for one of the individuals who died, Eugene Gates, falsely recorded that the USPS worker underwent required annual training on spotting heat illness symptoms. Similar allegations have come up at post offices in at least 10 states.
In addition to implementing the proposed heat rule, the letter signers demanded that DeJoy share what steps USPS is taking to ensure training records aren’t falsified and prioritize retrofitting postal vehicles with air conditioning where appropriate.
With respect to OSHA’s proposed rule, USPS said in a statement that the formal rulemaking process would allow it to provide comments and share concerns and recommendations. The agency also said its heat illness prevention program “includes numerous provisions designed to protect postal employees from heat-related issues.”