The hottest temps we’ve seen this year are about to hit 78 million of us.

Joe Paduda

You can check how awful its gonna get by entering your ZIP code here. 

Of course, millions will be outdoors working in agriculture, forestry, energy, construction, public safety, hospitality, logistics and transportation, and they will be at MUCH higher risk of getting hurt on the job.

The Workers Compensation Research Institute provides incontrovertible evidence that excess heat is a major claims and cost driver.

The most basic tenet of workers’ comp is to prevent injuries from happening in the first place. The most effective way to do this is to require employers to take steps to protect workers. Florida and Texas are two states that have rejected worker protections, so expect claims counts to jump this summer. 

Months ago, I wrote this:

Where are the work comp industry’s “thought leaders” on this?

If governmental policies led to higher injury rates, they’d be screaming for reform, but it’s just fine when Florida and Texas actively prohibit legal protection from excessive heat for workers.

Why?

I asked — several times — Mark Walls, founder of the Work Comp Analysis Group, and Bob Wilson, of WorkCompCollege, if they would join with me to advocate for worker heat protections.

Mark is with Safety National, an excess workers’ comp insurer. His profile indicates he is the chief marketing officer. Safety National will have more claims and incur more losses due to excess heat. 

No response. None.

What does this mean for you?

Heat standards protect workers. Not protecting workers is wrong.

Joseph Paduda is the principal of Health Strategy Associates, a consulting firm focused on improving medical management programs in workers’ compensation. This column is republished with his permission from his Managed Care Matters blog.