Following the bizarre CalOSHA hearing on March 21, summarized in a previous email we sent out to our members and also recapped briefly below, we have some additional information on what is likely to happen next for the Indoor Heat Regulation.

Coming out of the March meeting, it wasn’t clear if the Indoor Heat regulation would go into effect or not. Though the Cal/OSHA Standards Board voted to pass it, the Board Chair (Dave Thomas) also reported that they had been told not to vote, and the Department of Finance had problems with the regulation and would not approve the required fiscal document – Form 399. This strange combination left many wondering – was that vote effective? Should employers prepare to comply with the Indoor Heat regulation? And, if so, when? Cal/OSHA also discussed an emergency meeting in the last week of March to try to address any issues with their vote.

As of now, we have the following new information:

• The Standards Board did not hold an emergency meeting last week meaning their only operative vote was the March 21 vote.
• Based on the March 21 vote, Cal/OSHA sent its rulemaking packet to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) for review. It was posted on the OAL’s website today available HERE.
• The Department of Finance was quoted in multiple publications emphasizing the budget costs to the state and that OAL was “unlikely” to approve without their sign-off.
• OAL now has to review the rulemaking package – and should reject it, given that part of the rulemaking package that OAL must verify is the Department of Finance sign-off on Form 399.

What happens next?

If the Department of Finance does not cave, then we expect OAL to reject the regulation. If this occurs, we anticipate the following possibilities:

• Labor pushes the Cal/OSHA Standards Board for an emergency regulation focused on indoor heat – which may or may not mirror the present proposal from Cal/OSHA staff. If such an emergency regulation is proposed (and eventually passed by the Board, which we would expect to occur), the question would be whether the Department of Finance raises the same concerns, due to the state budget shortfall. 
• Labor may also push legislation aimed at the topic. They would need to find a vehicle to amend, which we believe they could do.

When will we know more?

The next two pressure points to watch for are:

• OAL rejection of the regulation – which should occur in 10 days or less.
• The Standards Board meeting on April 18.

What should employers do in the near term?

We think it is a certainty that, given the Standards Board’s unanimous vote here, some form of indoor heat regulation will pass as soon as they are allowed to pass it procedurally. So – even if all factors line up to delay passage of the regulation (OAL rejects the regulation and Labor pushes an emergency regulation, which Department of Finance similarly refuses to sign-off on) we would still anticipate the Standards Board passing a similar regulation in 2025 so consider this more of a reprieve, and less of a rejection.

The CRA team will keep our members posted and, as always, please feel free to reach out with any questions.