Washington State Department of Labor Issues Guidance on Workplace Heat and Smoke Protection

OLYMPIA, WA — The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) issued an administrative enforcement directive on Saturday, initiating targeted compliance inspections across commercial agricultural orchards, construction sites, and outdoor warehousing facilities.

Statutory Heat and Smoke Standards

The directive enforces permanent state occupational rules under Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 296-62, which trigger mandatory preventative measures based on temperature and air quality metrics. When ambient temperatures reach 80°F, employers must provide access to shade, cool drinking water, and monitored rest breaks. At 90°F, mandatory 10-minute paid cool-down rest breaks must occur every two hours, increasing to 15 minutes every hour at 100°F.

When wildfire smoke pushes fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations to dangerous levels, employers must distribute free NIOSH-approved N95 respirators and provide filtered clean-air shelters.

Worker Health Protection and Farmworker Advocacy

L&I safety inspectors will conduct unannounced field consultations in the Yakima Valley, Wenatchee, and Tri-Cities agricultural belts throughout the late summer harvest season.

Farmworker advocacy organizations, including the United Farm Workers (UFW), welcomed the proactive enforcement, emphasizing that heat illness prevention saves lives during prolonged summer heatwaves.

Penalties and Employer Compliance

Employers found in willful non-compliance face statutory civil penalties of up to $70,000 per violation. L&I offers free multilingual training resources for business supervisors through its workplace safety portal.