Extreme heat has engulfed the nation, with cities coast to coast breaking all-time heat records this summer. And as temperatures remain high in many parts of the country, workers continue to face dangerous and potentially deadly working conditions, while anti-worker leaders in Congress are quietly attempting to block any heat safety protections, now or in the future.

H.R. 6213—the misnamed Heat Workforce Standards Act—and its Senate counterpart, S. 4427, would prohibit the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from creating or enforcing any national heat safety law.

Working in extreme heat, both indoors and outdoors, makes workers vulnerable to heat-related illness and even death. It’s a difficult problem to track, as heat-related deaths and illnesses are not always recorded as such. As a result, this is a serious problem that is undercounted.

Working in hot environments also impacts a worker’s ability to think clearly, concentrate and react quickly, all of which can lead to further risk and harm.

In 2024, OSHA proposed the nation’s first heat safety standard. The Trump administration has yet to implement these much-needed protections, even as workers face increasingly hot temperatures across the country, year after year. And all workers are at serious risk of harm from the heat.