By David Hampton
The New Mexico Environment Department is currently inviting public input on a new “heat” regulation. You can comment on the project at the NMED website through May 30, 2025: EIB 25-11 (R) - Proposed New Regulation, 11.5.7 NMAC - Heat Illness and Injury Prevention.
Among the provisions contained in the proposed regulation is the requirement that employers must conduct time consuming heat exposure assessments when the heat index meets or exceeds just 80°F.
It goes without saying that 80 degrees is a common temperature for nearly any New Mexican to work outside in for half the year or more. And that doesn’t include those working indoors at grills and other kitchen environments. It is also common for construction sites to not have functioning HVAC systems until they are nearly open.
If adopted, employers will be forced to conduct heat illness training and maintain detailed records including attendees for at least five years. They must also maintain an accurate record of the heat acclimatization schedule and procedures for all new and returning employees. In addition, they must maintain a record of all heat illnesses or related injuries including those requiring first aid with heat index and working conditions at the time of the illness or injury.
Ultimately, this plan amounts to another massive and unnecessary cost on businesses, making business growth even more difficult in New Mexico. Businesses have an inherent incentive to protect their workforce against the serious issues associated with heat. The last thing you need is a worker passing out at a job site. There are serious liability concerns, work will inevitably slow, and if a business pushes their employees beyond their capacity to work those workers will find other opportunities.
Under the proposed regulations an employee of the business will have to assess the heat index of the work environment by measuring the temperature and relative humidity and applying those numbers along with:
- The effect of direct sunlight.
- Intensity of the work being performed.
- Acclimatization of the employee.
- Personal risk factors for heat illness.
- The heat-retaining properties of protective clothing and PPE.
If this sounds like a full-time job you are correct. Rather than government imposing regulations that are almost impossible to accurately enforce, why don’t we trust employees, employers, and unions to do the jobs they should. And, if the federal government has its own regulations, so be it.
The regulations contemplated here by the New Mexico Environment Department are unnecessarily burdensome and difficult to enforce. If not abandoned completely, this regulatory framework should be revised dramatically.
New Mexicans can comment until May 30 on this important matter. Go to: EIB 25-11 (R) - Proposed New Regulation, 11.5.7 NMAC - Heat Illness and Injury Prevention and provide your input today!
David Hampton is on the board of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to promoting prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility.
