Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention

Cal/OSHA's Heat Illness Prevention for Outdoor Places of Employment regulation applies to all outdoor places of employment such as those in the agriculture, construction, and landscaping industries.

For outdoor workplaces, employers must take steps to protect workers from heat illness. Some of the requirements include providing water, shade, rest, and training.

Employers may be covered under both the indoor and outdoor regulations if they have both indoor and outdoor workplaces. See the Comparison Chart of Indoor and Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention Standards.

Your employer must provide water, shade, rest.

California employers are required to take these four steps to prevent heat illness:

  1. Training
    Train all employees and supervisors about heat illness prevention.
  2. Water
    Provide enough fresh water so that each employee can drink at least 1 quart per hour, or four 8 ounce glasses, of water per hour, and encourage them to do so.
  3. Shade
    Provide access to shade and encourage employees to take a cool-down rest in the shade for at least 5 minutes. They should not wait until they feel sick to cool down.
  4. Planning
    Develop and implement written procedures for complying with the Cal/OSHA Heat Illness Prevention Standard.
Heat Illness Prevention - Water. Rest. Shade.

The HIP Network is a voluntary public/private partnership established to increase both employers' and employees' awareness of the hazard of heat illness and the importance of heat illness prevention measures to prevent fatalities and serious illnesses in California workplaces.

HIP Network members work together to help prevent heat illness in workplaces throughout California in partnership with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) by providing timely and essential information to employers and employees.

To join the HIP Network, email HIPNetwork@dir.ca.gov.

Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention Standard

Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention standards found in the California Code of Regulations, Title 8:

Additional Heat Illness Links

June 2024