California Heat Protection

California Heat Illness Prevention Poster – English/Spanish

Help educate employees about heat illness prevention with the California Heat Illness Prevention Poster. This bilingual English and Spanish workplace safety poster provides employees with important information about recognizing heat illness, preventing heat-related emergencies, and understanding workplace heat protections.

Poster Specifications

• Size: 17"W x 11"H
• Orientation: Landscape
• Language: Bilingual – English and Spanish
• Format: Full-color workplace safety poster
• Finish: Completely laminated with high-quality laminate
• Topic: California heat illness prevention and worker safety

What Is Heat Illness?

Heat illness can occur when the body is unable to adequately cope with heat exposure. Heat-related illnesses can range from heat cramps and heat exhaustion to life-threatening heat stroke.

Employees working in hot conditions should understand the warning signs of heat illness and know what to do when they or a coworker begin experiencing symptoms.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Heat Illness?

Signs and symptoms of heat-related illness can include:

• Heavy sweating
• Muscle cramps
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Weakness or fatigue
• Nausea or vomiting
• Fainting
• Confusion or disorientation
• Loss of coordination
• Unusual behavior
• Convulsions
• Loss of consciousness

Severe symptoms can indicate a medical emergency and require immediate action.

California Heat Illness Prevention Requirements

California employers are required to protect workers from heat-related illness under applicable Cal/OSHA standards.

California maintains separate heat illness prevention requirements for outdoor workplaces and indoor workplaces. An employer can be subject to both standards when employees work in both indoor and outdoor environments.

Outdoor Heat Illness Prevention

California's outdoor heat illness prevention standard applies to outdoor places of employment.

Important employer responsibilities include:

• Providing employees with access to fresh, pure, suitably cool drinking water
• Providing access to shade as required
• Allowing and encouraging preventative cool-down rests
• Training employees and supervisors about heat illness prevention
• Maintaining effective emergency response procedures
• Monitoring employees during periods of high heat
• Allowing employees time to acclimatize to hot working conditions
• Maintaining a written Heat Illness Prevention Plan

Water Requirements for Outdoor Workers

Outdoor employees must have access to potable drinking water that is fresh, pure, suitably cool, and provided free of charge.

When drinking water is not continuously supplied, employers must provide enough water or maintain effective replenishment procedures so employees can drink approximately one quart or more per employee per hour during the work shift.

Employees should be encouraged to drink water frequently during hot working conditions.

When Is Shade Required?

For outdoor workplaces, California generally requires shade to be present when the temperature exceeds 80°F.

When temperatures do not exceed 80°F, employers must still provide timely access to shade when an employee requests it, subject to the requirements of the outdoor heat illness prevention standard.

Shade must be located as close as practicable to where employees are working and must provide an effective area for employees to cool down.

Preventative Cool-Down Rest Periods

Outdoor employees must be allowed and encouraged to take a preventative cool-down rest in the shade when they feel the need to protect themselves from overheating.

An employee taking a preventative cool-down rest should be monitored for signs or symptoms of heat illness and must not be ordered back to work until applicable requirements are satisfied.

What Happens at 95°F?

California requires additional high-heat procedures when outdoor temperatures reach or exceed 95°F for specified industries.

Industries subject to these additional high-heat procedures include:

• Agriculture
• Construction
• Landscaping
• Oil and gas extraction
• Certain transportation and delivery operations involving agricultural products, construction materials, and other heavy materials

High-heat procedures include additional employee monitoring, communication, emergency preparedness, reminders to drink water, and pre-shift meetings addressing high-heat procedures.

Indoor Heat Illness Prevention

California also has a separate Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment standard.

The indoor heat standard generally applies to indoor work areas where the temperature reaches or exceeds 82°F while employees are present, subject to applicable exceptions.

Workplaces potentially affected can include:

• Warehouses
• Manufacturing facilities
• Restaurants and commercial kitchens
• Distribution facilities
• Garages
• Workshops
• Other indoor workplaces exposed to high temperatures

When Are Additional Indoor Heat Controls Required?

California requires additional assessment and control measures when certain indoor heat conditions exist.

These conditions can include:

• Indoor temperature reaching or exceeding 87°F
• Heat index reaching or exceeding 87°F
• Employees wearing clothing that restricts heat removal when temperatures reach or exceed 82°F
• Employees working in high radiant heat areas when temperatures reach or exceed 82°F

Cool-Down Areas for Indoor Employees

Covered indoor workplaces must provide employees with access to an appropriate cool-down area.

Cool-down areas must be accessible to employees and maintained in accordance with California's indoor heat illness prevention requirements.

Employees must be allowed and encouraged to take preventative cool-down rests when needed to protect themselves from overheating.

Acclimatization and Heat Illness

Acclimatization is the body's temporary adaptation to working in hot conditions. Employees can be particularly vulnerable when they are newly assigned to hot work or when temperatures suddenly increase.

California requires employers to closely observe employees under specified heat-wave and acclimatization conditions.

For outdoor work, an employee newly assigned to a high-heat area must be closely observed by a supervisor or designee during the employee's first 14 days of employment in that environment.

Heat Illness Training

California employers covered by the applicable heat illness prevention standards must provide effective training to employees and supervisors before employees perform work that can reasonably be expected to expose them to the risk of heat illness.

Training can include:

• Environmental and personal heat illness risk factors
• Importance of drinking water
• Access to shade or cool-down areas
• Preventative cool-down rests
• Signs and symptoms of heat illness
• First aid and emergency response
• Acclimatization
• Employee reporting procedures
• Employer heat illness prevention procedures

Heat Illness Emergency Response

Heat illness can progress rapidly from mild symptoms to a life-threatening medical emergency.

Employees showing severe symptoms such as confusion, disorientation, staggering, vomiting, irrational behavior, convulsions, or loss of consciousness require immediate attention and appropriate emergency response.

An employee showing signs or symptoms of heat illness should not be left alone or simply sent home without appropriate evaluation, first aid, or emergency medical assistance.

Written Heat Illness Prevention Plan

California employers covered by the applicable standards must establish, implement, and maintain an effective written Heat Illness Prevention Plan.

The plan must address applicable procedures for water, shade or cool-down areas, high-heat conditions, emergency response, acclimatization, and other requirements established by Cal/OSHA.

Is the California Heat Protection Poster Required?

California employers are required to comply with applicable Cal/OSHA heat illness prevention standards, but this educational Heat Illness Prevention Poster should not be confused with a universally mandated labor law posting.

The poster is a workplace safety and employee-awareness resource that can help reinforce heat illness prevention practices, symptoms, and employee protections.

Displaying this poster does not replace an employer's obligations to provide required training, maintain a written Heat Illness Prevention Plan, provide water, shade or cool-down areas, implement emergency procedures, or satisfy other applicable Cal/OSHA requirements.

Where Can the Heat Illness Prevention Poster Be Displayed?

The bilingual California Heat Illness Prevention Poster can be displayed in locations where employees exposed to hot working conditions can readily see it, including:

• Employee break areas
• Construction job trailers
• Agricultural workplaces
• Warehouses
• Manufacturing facilities
• Commercial kitchens
• Landscaping facilities
• Loading and distribution areas
• Employee bulletin boards
• Other indoor or outdoor work locations with heat exposure

California Workplace Safety and Compliance Resources

Labor Law Compliance Center provides California employers with labor law posters, workplace safety notices, employee rights materials, IWC Wage Orders, and specialty compliance products. Visit our California Labor Law Posters page or browse our California State Specialty Posters for additional California workplace compliance products.