DeSantis signs bill banning local heat protections for workers – By Zack Budryk (The Hill) / April 15, 2024
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has signed legislation barring local and municipal governments from requiring their own heat protections for workers.
The law, House Bill 433, blocks local governments from several activities, including setting a minimum wage higher than that of the state or federal governments. It also restricts local authorities from “[r]equiring an employer, including an employer contracting with the political subdivision, to meet or provide heat exposure requirements not otherwise required under state or federal law” or “[g]iving preference, or considering or seeking information, in a competitive solicitation to an employer based on the employer’s heat exposure requirements,” according to a summary released by the Legislature.
Proponents of the bill called it necessary for the Sunshine State’s economy. “Without continuity in business, businesses will not come to Florida. People will stop coming to Florida,” state Rep. Bob Rommel (R) said during floor debate on the bill.
An estimated 2 million Floridians work outdoors. The bill’s passage comes after the state’s most populous county, Miami-Dade, considered local heat protection rules that would have been among the most stringent in the country. That proposal would have required employers to provide shade, water and 10-minute breaks to workers every two hours on days over a certain heat threshold. However, county commissioners rejected the proposal in November over concerns it would hamstring businesses.
