For contractors, laborers and construction workers, how hot is too hot?
The Associated General Contractors of Missouri is keeping on eye on a proposal by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to set a standard for workers outside in the heat. It calls for a threshold of 80 degrees to trigger protections employers would have to provide - cooling zones, extra breaks and other measures.
Leonard Toenjes, president of AGC Missouri, said parts of the proposal go above and beyond reality.
"I think if that gets imposed, work will pretty much stop," he said. "Sometimes, I from the government and I'm here to help gets a little overdone."
Toenjes said no contractor he knows wants to harm their workers. He said AGC Missouri already has protections in place to make it safe for construction workers in the heat.
"We have three full-time safety professionals who go out and do all sorts of safety training for people," said Toenjes. "How to stay out of confined spaces, how to have ladder and trench safety, how to make sure you're not having heat stress on the job."
The 80-degree regulation from OSHA is still in the feedback process so no measures have been implemented.
