For Immediate Release: April 13, 2024/Press Contact: Eleazar Meléndez, 212-729-6672
Miami, Florida — This week Governor DeSantis signed into law House Bill 433: Employment Regulations, a cruel piece of legislation which will bar local governments from passing local heat protections for outdoor works.
Every year, Florida workers engaging in outside activities in extreme heat have ended up in hospitals or died from complications brought on by workplace-related heat illness. Companies have faced minimal penalties – if any at all. This is a clear indication that the current protections are not enough.
Last September, Miami Freedom Project joined the ¡Qué Calor! Campaign which has been advocating for a Miami-Dade County-wide heat standard. The local bill would have guaranteed water, shade, and rest to about 300,000 workers, many of whom work in construction and agriculture, building our city and ensuring our food supply.
As a result of this bill, enforcing workplace standards such as mandatory water breaks or scheduled rests in the shade through local ordinance, for Florida’s nearly two million outdoor workers is now prohibited.
In view of HB 433 being signed into law, Ana Sofia Pelaez, executive director, Miami Freedom Project, has issued the following statement:
“Last year, Miami-Dade County had the opportunity to pass a heat standard that would protect construction and agricultural workers from heat complications, stroke, and even death with simple common sense measures that business leaders should welcome if they truly value their workforce. Instead of taking these common sense measures to protect Florida’s essential workers exposed to worsening heat conditions, the state of Florida cowed to industry lobbyists and banned municipalities from taking life saving steps to protect our most vulnerable workers.
The question now is how many workers we will expose to dangerous work conditions that could be simply and effectively prevented, how many lives will be lost before we do the right thing?”
The state law preventing local governments from requiring heat protections for outdoor workers will go into effect on July 1st of this year
