This bill establishes new workplace safety standards to protect farmworkers from wildfire smoke and excessive heat. The law requires agricultural employers to provide workers with protective equipment—including N95 or N100 respirators for smoke and water and cooling facilities for heat—along with training in how to use this equipment, available in workers' preferred languages. When air quality or temperatures reach dangerous levels as determined by the Labor Secretary, employers must make the protective equipment mandatory and provide workers with paid rest breaks of at least 10 minutes every two hours in shaded or smoke-reduced areas. The Labor Secretary must begin developing a formal occupational safety and health standard within 90 days of enactment, though an initial standard takes effect immediately upon the law's passage. The bill also requires the Labor Department to offer technical assistance and develop sample training materials to help employers comply, working with community organizations to reach farmworkers facing language barriers or geographic isolation.
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