Nearly 2 Million NY Workers Remain at Risk After Legislative Inaction in NYS

I am deeply frustrated and disappointed that during the past legislative session, New York legislative leaders failed the workers who needed protection most. While the Trump Administration moves to eliminate federal workplace heat protections, Albany Democratic leadership had the opportunity to step up for nearly 2 million New York workers—and chose not to act.

Workers Need New Heat Protections Immediately

Even as extreme temperatures require that people take it easy, many workers’ shifts go on as usual. Workers have little recourse for such employer endangerment, and the results are deadly. Stories abound with ever-greater frequency of workers dying on the job during hot days. No matter how young or healthy one might be, extreme heat kills, with the predictability of such deaths making them all the more damning.

NYCOSH REPORT: New York City Construction Worker Deaths Increase for Third Year in a Row

The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) released its annual construction fatality report today, “Deadly Skyline: An Annual Report on Construction Fatalities in New York State.” The report analyzed data from 2022, the most recent data year available, and found an increase in construction worker death rates in New York City.