New California regulation could require cooler workspaces

STOCKTON - A new Cal-OSHA regulation could go into effect that would force employers to make it cooler where you work.

If adopted, anything over 87 degrees while working inside and companies may need to find alternatives.

Business owners told CBS13 they understand how important it is to stay cool when you're working indoors.

"Heat's been a thing for a while now so luckily we have a lot of measures in place," said Chris Ward, the Vice President of Operations for Pacific Coast Producers, a farmer-owned canned fruit company.

Ward welcomes Cal-OSHA's new proposal to have employers keep the temperature below 82 degrees for workers, or begin providing alternatives such as water, shaded areas and cooling fans.

"It's something we can hope to achieve and so for us it's fine and we're incongruent with what's going to happen," he said.

CBS13 couldn't get inside the warehouse for sanitation and security reasons, but they provided a video that shows what they do.

"We're a seasonal operation and our season is the summer," Ward said. "We need to focus on being experts at making this comfortable for all of us."

"When it gets hot like this we are monitoring temperatures and checking on our employees," he said.

"Watch each other's back, like I don't feel good. Nothing like that happens in the restaurant," said Cuauhtemoc Rivera, the owner of Don Luis Mexican Cuisine in Stockton.

Rivera said this whole week, he's been running the A/C and fans inside not just for his customers, but also his employees.

His seating area is within the requirements, but he's trying his best in the kitchen.

"In the restaurant industry for the people in the front it's different temperatures," he said. "But for the people that work in the grill, it's 100 to 150 degrees."

If temperatures hit above 87, the new proposal makes it law for extra breaks and to provide cold water.

"We're obviously going to double-check, but we've been tracking it and I'd say we're in pretty good shape when it hits the ground," said Ward.

The law has not yet gone into effect. The Office of Administrative Law has 30 days to review it.

Cal-OSHA is hopeful it'll be implemented in August.