White House announces new efforts to protect workers from severe heat

WASHINGTON — The heat is here, and after new actions by President Joe Biden, more protections are coming for outdoor workers.

Summer is already off to a sweltering start all across the United States.

Many communities, including the metro Atlanta area, hit record-breaking temperatures or got close to record-breaking, over the last couple of weeks.

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Channel 2′s Washington Correspondent Kirstin Garris is learning more about how the U.S. government is working to address weather conditions and keep workers safe.

Biden announced new actions to protect workers from the effects of extreme heat on Tuesday, as forecasts for the rest of summer show hotter-than-average temperatures nationwide.

On Tuesday, the White House established the nation’s first federal safety standard for excessive heat.

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The goal of the new initiative is to help keep outdoor workers safe on the job.

Biden said the effort included developing response plans for heat illness, implementing rest breaks and requiring that workers have access to shade and water. The president said the new policies would impact workers across the U.S., especially those who work in farming, construction and the U.S. Postal Service.

“Across the country, workers suffer heat stroke or even die doing their jobs, this new rule will substantially reduce heat injuries, illnesses and deaths for over 36 million workers to whom this will apply,” Biden said in the announcement.

Earlier this year, U.S. Congress debated a bill backed by Republican lawmakers that would denounce the ”harmful, anti-American energy policies of the Biden Administration,” and included a push for more domestic production of energy.”

In the meantime, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced billions of dollars in new funding as grants to help states handle extreme heat, flooding and storms.

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