The SMOKE Act directs the Secretary of Labor to create occupational safety and health standards to protect workers from exposure to hazardous air quality caused by wildfire smoke and other sources. The bill requires the Labor Department to propose a standard within two years and finalize it within 3.5 years, with standards that must include air quality monitoring, employer communication of hazardous conditions, engineering and administrative controls, and personal protective equipment like respirators. The legislation applies to all employers with workers at risk of exposure to "adverse air," defined as air with a particulate matter index of 151 or higher, with some exemptions for enclosed filtered buildings and brief exposures under one hour. The bill also guarantees covered employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year to avoid hazardous air exposure if their health would be jeopardized, with the option to substitute paid vacation or personal leave. If the Labor Department fails to meet the proposed standard deadline, it must issue an interim standard within two years and 60 days that requires employers to monitor air quality and communicate risks to employees.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.