The contributions of organized labor to American society extend well beyond the establishment of Labor Day as a federal holiday. The eight-hour day, minimum wage, and workplace health and safety laws, among other protections, are the result of relentless worker advocacy. But the job isn’t done.
The selections included in this month’s Resource Roundup show how labor standards must continually evolve to meet new challenges, address longstanding exclusions, and move us toward a world of work in which all workers can thrive. Achieving these big picture goals requires thinking through regulatory details. We encourage you to read the Department of Labor’s announcement of a proposed OSHA heat rule and submit feedback to share your thoughts to inform the rule-making process.
In addition, find out from Orlando Weekly what the exclusion of state and local employees from federal OSHA oversight has meant for these workers. Then, learn from the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School about what states and cities can do to expand on federal labor law. Finally, hear reporting from the Wall Street Journal on the fatal consequences of overwork at Bank of America and the disconnect between internal HR policies and managers’ demands.
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U.S. Department of Labor
8 things to know about OSHA’s proposed heat rule
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has recognized that the warming climate threatens the health — and lives — of workers exposed to extreme heat. Accordingly, the agency has drafted a rule that would cover indoor and outdoor workers in sectors where they are likely to be exposed to a heat index above 80 degrees. Employers would be required to track the temperature at worksites and provide relief for workers, like water, rest breaks, and shade, as the index goes up.
HAVE COMMENTS?
OSHA is accepting feedback to shape the final heat rule until Dec. 30, 2024.
Orlando Weekly
Florida abandoned workplace safety for its public employees
Nearly eight million state and local government employees — including 900,000 in Florida, alone — aren’t covered by federal workplace health and safety rules. Why? Because the Occupational Safety and Health Act excludes state and local employees, and fewer than half of states have created their own OSHA frameworks that go beyond the federal minimum and include these workers. The need for greater protections is clear, as, according to an AFL-CIO analysis, public sector employees are injured on the job at a rate nearly twice that of their private sector peers.
Read Orlando Weekly’s reporting to learn more about the risks taken on by public employees in Florida and nationwide and what continued inaction on ensuring workplace safety means in a state where public sector unions — another key means for protecting workers — are under attack.
Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School
Building Worker Power in Cities & States
Legislative stagnation and judicial opposition have slowed progress on pro-worker policy at the federal level. However, state and local governments can take action to shore up the federal floor — and build upon it.
The Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School recently released a toolkit designed to help policymakers, organizers, and other job quality advocates take advantage of current labor momentum and bolster worker rights in their own communities. It provides strategies and case studies, including on affirmative enforcement of labor standards, frameworks for covering workers excluded from federal labor law, and connecting public economic development spending with job quality. 
Explore the toolkit to learn more about the role states and cities can play in supporting a pro-worker economy.
The Journal Podcast
Outcry at Bank of America Over Dangerous Workloads
In May, an associate at Bank of America died after putting in 100-hour workweeks for a month in the company’s investment division. It wasn’t the first time that overwork appeared to be linked to an employee’s death at the bank. In 2013, an intern died after working successive all-nighters, and Bank of America had since implemented HR rules to reduce managers’ demands on their subordinates’ time. But as the recent tragedy and accounts from current and former employees illustrate, the rules were too often just so many words on paper. Managers still pressed employees to work beyond internal limits — and lie about the number of hours worked to HR.
Listen to the Wall Street Journal’s Alexander Saeedy for more on what he learned in his reporting on the culture of overwork in investment banking.
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