By Jason Guerrero, Audubon Florida’s Write for Climate program
In Florida, almost 2 million people are employed in jobs that require them to work outdoors, from construction to logging to home lawn care businesses. These people contribute billions of dollars to Florida’s economy, yet are left unprotected by the state in the increasingly hot days of summer.
Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 433 into law, banning local governments from requiring businesses to have heat illness prevention measures beyond federal requirements. This comes at a time when summer temperatures, which have been the rise every year for more than 50 years, are becoming noticeably higher than even just a couple of years ago.
In 2024, the hottest year globally on record, temperatures were in the high 90s throughout South Florida. Heat advisories were issued on 40 days out of the summer in Miami-Dade County, which is almost half the summer.
A 26-year-old worker on a sugarcane farm in Belle Grade died of heatstroke on his first day of the job, a day when temperatures hit 97 degrees. His death was completely preventable and the area director for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration blamed the labor management for not requiring rest and water breaks.
This needs to change immediately in our state. Senate Bill 510, introduced by Sen. Darryl Rouson of District 16, would have required employers to implement outdoor heat exposure safety programs including acclimatizing workers to the heat over a two-week period. The legislation would prevent heat-related illnesses, death and injuries but was withdrawn from consideration in this last legislative session.
I urge our state officials to consider this issue and take action on a bill to make working in summers safer.
Jason Guerrero is majoring in GIS at the University of South Florida in Tampa, graduating this fall. This piece was written for Audubon Florida’s Write for Climate program. Banner photo: A farmworker works in the sun (iStock image).
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