New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani yesterday signed an Executive Order directing a “whole-of-government response” to protect workers from extreme heat.
The order directs the departments of Health and Mental Hygiene, Emergency Management and the Citywide Administrative Services to develop and distribute multilingual heat safety guidance for outdoor workers as soon as practicable this year. Guidance for indoor workers will be issued by March 1, 2027.
The order also directs the city’s mental health department to study the relationship between extreme heat and workers’ compensation claims and evaluate whether heat illness should be designated a reportable health condition.
According to the city, more than 1.4 million New Yorkers — one-third of the city’s workforce — spend extended periods working outdoors each summer, including construction workers, day laborers, street vendors, delivery workers, truck drivers and warehouse workers. Heat contributes to 500 deaths in the city each year, making it one of the deadliest weather-related hazards, according to the city.
There have been a number of studies on workers’ compensation claims related to heat. Workers’ compensation claims are 45% more frequent and 20% more severe on hot days, according to the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF). Research by the Workers Compensation Research Institute found that workplace heat-related illnesses increase considerably on days when temperatures exceed 90 degrees compared with days between 75 and 80 degrees.
“No one should have to choose between their paycheck and their health,” said Mamdani. “The workers building our skyline, delivering our packages, selling food on our street corners and keeping this city running deserve to come home safe at the end of every shift. In the past, workers have borne the burden of extreme heat while government looked the other way.”
“Heat has taken the lives of more New Yorkers than any other weather hazard, and the workers most exposed to it deserve real protection,” said NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Christina Farrell.
“I’ve worked at LaGuardia Airport for years, and I can tell you: the heat on that tarmac is no joke,” said John Mosquera, who work for Alliance Ground International (AGI). “Some days it feels like you are working inside an oven. I’ve personally gotten sick and passed out in the heat before. We don’t always have shade, we don’t always get breaks, and for a long time, nobody with power was paying attention.”
The order reinforces existing protections for outdoor workers, including access to bathrooms and workplace reporting requirements. It also requires every mayoral agency to implement heat illness prevention plans for city employees and contractors. The buildings department must review and strengthen construction site heat safety requirements, with recommendations due by March 1, 2027.
“Extreme heat is a workplace hazard that deserves the same preventive measures, awareness, and response as any other threat to worker safety,” said Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani.
The executive order was developed in partnership with the TEMP Coalition, the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, 32BJ SEIU and other labor unions and community organizations.
Mamdani said the new order builds on the city’s existing “Beat the Heat” program for residents who have long faced rising temperatures without comparable protections.
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