April 16, 2026 – Last week, the federal agency tasked with protecting Americans from workplace hazards removed specific goals that had previously resulted in a notable increase in inspections to identify heat conditions that could endanger workers.
Dangerous heat exposure is a serious risk on farms, in food processing facilities, and in restaurants, and has been getting worse due to climate change.
Under former President Joe Biden, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) created a Heat National Emphasis Program in 2022, which set a goal for each region to double their heat inspections.
Between 2022 and 2024, the program led to a significant increase in the number of heat-related inspections conducted. OSHA conducted 7,000 inspections annually, compared to 200 annually between 2015 and 2020, and a larger percentage were preventative rather than in response to a worker death.
The program expired this month, prompting the revision by the Trump administration. Administration officials retained the majority of the previous text on the program’s goals, stating that the aim “is to reduce or eliminate worker exposures to heat-related hazards that result in illnesses, injuries, and death.”
They said OSHA will continue to target worksites where employees are exposed to extreme heat and are not provided with adequate protection. However, they removed specific inspection goals previously included.
In an email to supporters, United Farm Workers Digital Director Jocelyn Sherman said the change would put farmworkers’ lives at risk. “In this time of climate change and rising temperatures, it is terrifyingly unclear whether OSHA will still proactively inspect hot worksites,” she wrote.
OSHA did not respond to Civil Eats’ request for comment on why the inspection targets were removed, but in a news release, the agency said that compliance officers “will continue to conduct outreach and compliance assistance and expand any inspection where there is evidence of heat-related hazards on heat priority days.”
The agency will also conduct random inspections in high-risk industries “on days when the National Weather Service issues a heat advisory or warning.”
The revised directive also makes changes to the industries to be targeted for inspection, removing fruit and tree nut farming, but adding hog and pig farming, animal slaughtering and processing, and greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture production.
Under Biden, OSHA also proposed a more detailed, comprehensive rule that would require agricultural employers to develop detailed plans to prevent heat-related injuries, monitor heat, and implement protocols at specific temperatures deemed potentially hazardous.
The Trump administration extended the public comment period on the rule to October 2025 and to date has not yet moved to finalize, change, or withdraw it. (Link to this post.)
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