Summer Heat Rules for Contractors: Where OSHA Enforcement, NYC Local Law, and New York State Policy Stand

Kenney Shelton Liptak Nowak LLP | Labor and Employment Update

By: Karl E. Daniel, Esq.

There is still no federal heat safety standard on the books. That has not stopped OSHA from treating heat as a top enforcement priority, and it has not stopped New York City from becoming one of the first jurisdictions in the country to make heat illness prevention a binding legal requirement for outdoor workers, construction sites included. For contractors operating in New York, the compliance picture now runs on two tracks: aggressive federal enforcement under a program rather than a rule, and an actual local law with specific temperature thresholds.

Federal Enforcement Continues Without a Final Rule

OSHA published its proposed heat injury and illness prevention standard, covering general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture, on August 30, 2024. Following a comment period and an informal public hearing that concluded in July 2025, the rulemaking has stalled, with no indication that the current administration intends to finalize it in the near term.

That has not slowed enforcement. OSHA's original Heat National Emphasis Program, launched in 2022, expired on April 8, 2026. Two days later, on April 10, 2026, OSHA issued a revised and expanded version of the program, extending it for five years, through April 2031, and adding to its target list of high-hazard industries, now 55 in total, with construction remaining a central focus. Under the renewed program, OSHA directs inspection resources toward worksites during heat priority days and toward industries and employers with documented heat-related citations or hazard letters. 

Absent a final standard, OSHA continues to rely on the General Duty Clause to cite employers for heat hazards, using the proposed rule's framework as an indication of what it expects a reasonable heat safety program to include.

What the Stalled Proposal Would Require

Even though it has not been finalized, contractors should treat the proposed rule's structure as the practical floor for a defensible heat safety program, since OSHA field staff already evaluate employers against it informally. The proposal would require a written, site-specific heat injury and illness prevention plan for employers with more than ten employees, identification of the heat metric being monitored, and specific obligations triggered at an initial heat trigger and a higher heat trigger, generally referencing heat index thresholds around 80°F and 90°F. 

It also addresses acclimatization for new and returning employees, since the proposal recognizes that workers newly exposed to heat, or returning after time away, face materially higher risk until their bodies adjust.

New York City's Local Law 26 Is Already Binding

While the federal rule remains stalled, New York City is not waiting. Local Law 26, enacted by the City Council in 2024, established mandatory heat illness prevention requirements specifically for outdoor workers, enforced by the Department of Buildings on construction sites. 

The law is triggered by forecast heat index thresholds: at 80°F, employers must begin implementing a heat illness prevention plan; at 90°F, enhanced protections take effect, including sufficient shade located close enough to work areas that workers do not lose meaningful break time traveling to it, and continuously accessible cool drinking water rather than water limited to scheduled breaks. 

The law also requires heat illness prevention training so workers and supervisors can recognize symptoms in themselves and each other, and it incorporates an acclimatization expectation, gradually increasing new workers' heat exposure over roughly one to two weeks rather than assigning full-duty work in high-heat conditions immediately.

New York City Signals Further Tightening

On June 22, 2026, Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed Executive Order No. 17, directing city agencies to build on Local Law 26 rather than replace it. The order does not itself impose new private-sector obligations, but it directs the Department of Buildings to review existing construction-site heat protections and recommend strengthened requirements by March 1, 2027, and it directs the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to study heat-related workers' compensation claims and evaluate whether heat illness should become a reportable health condition. For contractors, the order is a clear signal that additional construction-specific heat requirements are likely within the next year, not a hypothetical possibility.

New York State's Supporting Role

New York State has not enacted a comprehensive private-sector heat standard comparable to Local Law 26, but state policy reinforces the same direction. PESH, the state's Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau, adopted OSHA's Heat National Emphasis Program for public sector employers in 2022 and continues to enforce it, meaning state and municipal employers face the same heat-related inspection priorities as private employers under federal OSHA. Separately, the New York State Insurance Fund launched an Extreme Heat Equipment Credit in 2025, helping qualifying small businesses offset the cost of personal protective equipment and cooling supplies, alongside the state's existing Extreme Heat Guidance for employers.

Practical Takeaways

• Adopt a written heat illness prevention plan now, even outside New York City, modeled on OSHA's proposed rule structure. Field inspectors are already evaluating employers against that framework under the General Duty Clause.

• If operating in New York City, treat Local Law 26's 80°F and 90°F thresholds as binding compliance triggers, not best practices. The Department of Buildings enforces this law directly against construction sites.

• Build a documented acclimatization policy that gradually increases new and returning workers' heat exposure over one to two weeks. This is a focus of both the federal proposal and Local Law 26, and OSHA inspectors specifically verify functional acclimatization procedures during NEP inspections.

• Ensure shade and water are genuinely accessible, not merely present somewhere on site. Local Law 26's shade requirement specifically addresses proximity so workers do not lose break time traveling to it.

• Prepare for further New York City construction-specific requirements before March 2027, when the Department of Buildings is due to issue recommendations under Executive Order No. 17.

• Review eligibility for New York State's Extreme Heat Equipment Credit if the business qualifies as a small business, since it can help offset PPE and cooling equipment costs tied to compliance.

  
  

Kenney Shelton Liptak Nowak LLP advises contractors, developers, and employers on OSHA compliance, workplace safety enforcement, and New York labor and employment matters. For questions about how these heat safety requirements may affect an existing safety program or a pending OSHA inspection, contact our employment and labor team.