WASHINGTON – Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is backing the bipartisan, bicameral Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act to protect the safety and health of indoor and outdoor workers who are exposed to dangerous heat conditions in the workplace. The legislation would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) establish an enforceable federal standard to protect workers in high-heat environments with commonsense measures like paid breaks in cool spaces, access to water, limitations on time exposed to heat, and emergency response for workers with heat-related illness.
The bill is named in honor of Asunción Valdivia, who died in 2004 after picking grapes for 10 hours straight in 105-degree temperatures. Mr. Valdivia fell unconscious, but instead of calling an ambulance, his employer told Mr. Valdivia’s son to drive his father home. On his way home, he died of heat stroke at the age of 53.
“From farmworkers in Yuma to construction crews in Phoenix, Arizonans are working through triple-digit temperatures with no federal guarantee of water, shade, or rest,” said Senator Gallego. “As temperatures continue to rise, I’m proud to support this bill to put basic protections in place that will help save the lives of Arizonan workers.”
From 2011-2020, heat exposure killed at least 400 workers and caused nearly 34,000 injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work; both are likely vast underestimates. Farm workers and construction workers suffer the highest incidence of heat illness. No matter what the weather is outside, workers in factories, commercial kitchens, and other workplaces, including ones where workers must wear personal protective equipment (PPE), can face dangerously high heat conditions all year round. In Arizona, approximately one in five workers are in a heat hazard industry.
The Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act has the support of a broad coalition of over 250 groups, including: Rural Coalition, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, AFL-CIO, UNITE HERE!, Communication Workers of America, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Sierra Club, United Farm Workers, Farmworker Justice, Public Citizen, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Union of Concerned Scientists, United Steelworkers, National Resources Defense Council, American Lung Association, and Health Partnerships.
A one-pager on the bill is available HERE.
A section-by-section analysis of the bill is available HERE.
Full text of the bill is available HERE.
This legislation builds on Senator Gallego’s leadership in combating extreme heat in Congress. This year, he introduced the Extreme Heat Emergency Actto add extreme heat to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) list of major disaster qualifying events; the Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act to fund community solutions to urban heat islands; and the Extreme Heat Economic Study Act to study the impact of extreme heat on public health, infrastructure, and the economy. He’s also pushed for additional funding and recognition of the severe impacts extreme heat has on the health and well-being of the most vulnerable Arizonans, including seniors, children, and people with underlying health conditions.
7/18/25