Key Takeaways
What Happened: On April 10, 2026, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a revised National Emphasis Program for Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards (Heat NEP). The revised directive narrows the list of industries considered high-risk for heat hazards, eliminates the prior numeric inspection goal, and continues OSHA’s targeted heat-related enforcement and outreach efforts across general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture.
Who’s Impacted: Employers with indoor or outdoor workers exposed to elevated temperatures may be affected, particularly those operating in the 55 industries OSHA identifies as high risk under the revised Heat NEP. The identified industries include construction, agriculture, warehousing, transportation, landscaping, manufacturing, foundries, waste collection, delivery and logistics, and similar sectors. In addition, the revised Heat NEP newly adds 22 industries, including department stores, plastic product manufacturing, and electrical equipment manufacturing, to its target list.
Next Steps: Employers should review and, where necessary, update their heat illness prevention programs, employee training, acclimatization practices, emergency response procedures, and recordkeeping. Although the revised Heat NEP targets fewer industries than the 2022 version, OSHA retained broad authority to expand inspections when heat hazards are present and to conduct programmed inspections on National Weather Service (NWS) heat warning or advisory days.
Background on OSHA’s Heat Initiative
Addressing the risk of heat-related injury and illness has been a high priority for OSHA in recent years. OSHA has maintained an ongoing Heat Illness Prevention Campaign, initiated a National Emphasis Program in 2022 to focus enforcement efforts on heat hazards, and continues to pursue rulemaking to address heat-related injury and illness prevention. B&D previously issued a news alert on OSHA’s proposed rule, Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings, 89 Fed. Reg. 70698 (Aug. 30, 2024). According to OSHA’s rulemaking page, the informal public hearing concluded on July 2, 2025, and the post-hearing comment period closed on October 30, 2025, but OSHA has not yet finalized the rule.
In the absence of a finalized heat standard, OSHA has revised the NEP as its operative national enforcement directive for heat hazards. OSHA issued the revised Heat NEP on April 10, 2026, citing the continued need for heat-related outreach, compliance assistance, and enforcement in workplaces where workers may face serious heat-related illness or injury. The revised directive took effect immediately, replacing OSHA’s April 8, 2022 directive, and will remain in effect for five years. OSHA reports that heat-related inspections accounted for 6 percent of all federal inspections during the last five years, with 43 percent being unprogrammed and 57 percent programmed.
Key Revisions and Other Notable Highlights in the New Heat NEP
OSHA narrowed the “target list” of high-risk industries. OSHA updated the list of high‑risk industries using recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data, OSHA severe injury reports, and heat‑related inspection history. Compared to the 2022 Heat NEP, 46 target industries were removed, 22 added, and 33 retained, for a total of 55 target industries. These changes reduce the number of target industries by around 30%. Appendix A to the revised Heat NEP contains the updated list. Newly added industries include department stores, plastic product manufacturing, electrical equipment manufacturing, and machinery, equipment, and supplies merchant wholesalers. OSHA removed several chemical and industrial sectors from target list including basic chemical manufacturing (NAICS 3251); chemical and allied products merchant wholesalers; petroleum and petroleum products merchant wholesalers; and architectural, engineering, and related services (NAICS 5413). In addition, waste treatment and disposal (NAICS 5622) was removed, while waste collection (NAICS 5621) remains a targeted industry under the revised NEP.
The revised Heat NEP eliminates the prior numeric inspection goal. The 2022 Heat NEP directed OSHA Regions to increase heat inspections by 100 percent above the baseline average from fiscal years 2017 through 2021. The revised Heat NEP omits quota‑based inspection goals and instead frames the program in terms of broader enforcement, outreach, and compliance-assistance goals.
OSHA preserved several significant inspection mechanisms. The revised Heat NEP states that compliance officers investigating for other purposes “shall expand their inspection or refer a heat-related inspection” where there is evidence of heat hazards, including illnesses or injuries recorded on OSHA Forms 300 and 301, employee statements, or plain-view observations. It also provides that on “heat priority days,” i.e., when the expected heat index is 80°F or higher, OSHA Area Offices should assess the potential for serious heat-related illnesses and injuries in indoor and outdoor work areas. In addition, programmed inspections “shall occur on any day that the NWS has announced a heat warning or advisory for the local area.” See Appendix G to the revised Heat NEP.
Continued emphasis on on-site enforcement and follow-up inspections. OSHA continues to prioritize on-site responses to complaints and to all employer-reported hospitalizations (e.g., severe injury reports) related to heat hazards, while reserving rapid response investigations for limited circumstances and requiring Area Director approval. Fatalities remain OSHA’s highest inspection priority, and complaints or referrals alleging worker exposure to heat hazards, including inadequate access to water, rest, or shade, are also to receive priority for on-site inspection. The revised Heat NEP also preserves OSHA’s practice of conducting follow‑up inspections at worksites previously inspected and cited for heat-related hazards to verify abatement and monitor the effectiveness of OSHA’s enforcement and guidance efforts.
The revised NEP formalizes heat-program evaluation tool and citation guidance. Appendix I to the revised Heat NEP, Evaluation of a Heat Program, lists the factors compliance officers should examine, including whether the employer has a heat program; how the employer monitors temperature and work exertion; whether employees have access to cool water, hydration breaks, rest breaks, and shade; whether the employer acclimatizes new and returning workers; whether the employer uses administrative controls; whether the employer trains workers; and whether employees and supervisors understand the heat program. In addition, the newly added Appendix J, Citation Guidance, explains how OSHA evaluates whether the elements of a General Duty Clause violation are present and clarifies that Hazard Alert Letters may be issued when those elements cannot be fully established.
The revised NEP reinforces existing heat‑hazard documentation practices. The Heat NEP provides detailed instructions for documenting heat hazards during inspections. Compliance officers are directed to review OSHA injury and illness records, including OSHA Forms 300 and 300A; interview workers; and evaluate relevant working conditions such as sources of heat, physical workload, personal protective equipment, and the duration of employee exposure. The Heat NEP also instructs Officers to document environmental and weather‑related conditions, including wind speed, relative humidity, dry bulb temperature, wet‑bulb temperature, cloud cover, and applicable NWS heat advisories or warnings, to support enforcement determinations.
Practical Takeaways for Employers
Employers should regard the revised Heat NEP as a more focused federal heat enforcement program, even if it is narrower in scope than the prior version. Although OSHA has not yet finalized a federal heat standard, OSHA continues to rely on the General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the OSHA Act, to address heat hazards through citations and Hazard Alert Letters. Employers, therefore, remain vulnerable to heat‑related enforcement through both incident‑driven inspections (such as those triggered by complaints or fatalities) and proactive inspections conducted during heat priority days or local NWS heat warnings or advisories.
The addition of Appendix I, Evaluation of a Heat Program, and Appendix J, Citation Guidance, underscores the importance of an employer’s ability to demonstrate that it has implemented and is actively maintaining an effective, site‑specific heat illness prevention program. OSHA expects employers to intervene early and to prevent illnesses and deaths among workers during high-heat conditions.
Employers should also continue monitoring state-law developments, particularly in jurisdictions with OSHA‑approved State Plans. OSHA has “strongly encouraged” but not required that State Plans adopt the revised Heat NEP. Within 60 days of the Heat NEP’s effective date of April 10, 2026, each State Plan must notify OSHA whether it already has a similar policy in place, intends to adopt the revised Heat NEP, or does not intend to adopt the directive. Additionally, employers with worksites in California, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington should be aware that those states have adopted their own heat standards. Similar rules may be on the horizon in other states, such as Virginia, where the Governor recently signed SB288, directing Virginia’s Safety and Health Code Boards to adopt heat illness prevention standards by May 1, 2028.
