January and February are some of the coldest months of the year and often bring extreme weather conditions that can be challenging for agricultural workers who work in the elements. Although there are no specific standards or regulations regarding what employers must provide to employees that are required to work in winter conditions. Employers do have an obligation to provide workers with employment and a work place that are free from recognized hazards (Section 5a 1 OSHA, 1970). Thus, employers have an obligation to train employees and ensure that they are aware of the risks of cold stress and safe work practices for working in the cold. The U. S. Department of labor, OSHA website offers the following suggestions for preventing cold stress https://www.osha.gov/emergency-preparedness /guides/cold-stress.
Safe work practices to prevent cold stress.
- If possible, schedule heavy work during the warmer part of the day.
- Assign workers to tasks in pairs (buddy system), so that they can monitor each other for signs of cold stress.
- Reduce the physical demands of workers (for example, use relief workers or rotate extra workers in and out of work for long, demanding jobs).
- Workers can be allowed to interrupt their work, if they are extremely uncomfortable.
- Employers should give workers frequent breaks in warm areas.
- Acclimatize new workers and those returning after time away from work, by gradually increasing their workload, and allowing more frequent breaks in warm areas, as they build up a tolerance for working in the cold environment.
For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.