Too Hot to Work: Is There a Law? Federal and State Rules

The federal position

What are the OSHA regulations for temperature in the workplace?

There is no number.

OSHA has no standard setting a workplace temperature limit, hot or cold. If you are looking for the temperature at which the law says you can stop, it does not exist at federal level.

Heat is instead cited under the General Duty Clause, section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, which requires an employer to keep the workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. That has no trigger temperature attached, which cuts both ways: there is no number protecting you, and no number protecting the employer either.

Worth knowing, because most employers assume the bar is much higher: OSHA's own Technical Manual states that workplaces above 70°F may have a heat hazard present when the work is at or above a moderate workload.

A federal heat standard has been proposed, but it is not in force. The proposed rule would cover roughly 36 million workers with an initial trigger at a heat index of 80°F and a high-heat trigger at 90°F. A supplemental notice is scheduled for December 2026 and final action is targeted for October 2027, so anyone telling you today that you are covered by a federal heat rule is describing something that does not yet exist.

What is already active is enforcement pressure. OSHA's Heat National Emphasis Program was renewed on 10 April 2026 for up to five years across 55 target industries, and it treats a forecast heat index of 80°F as a heat priority day for inspection purposes.

Sources: OSHA Technical Manual, Heat Stress; OSHA Heat National Emphasis Program CPL 03-00-024; OSHA heat rulemaking. Full breakdown on the OSHA heat standard page.

Where the real numbers are

Seven states have written a number down.

If you want an actual temperature that triggers an actual obligation, this is the whole list. Everywhere else, only the General Duty Clause applies, and there is no number.

State	Trigger	Covers
California	80°F outdoor (§3395), 82°F indoor (§3396), extra duties at 87°F and 95°F	Indoor and outdoor
Washington	80°F and 90°F action levels, paid cool-down at 90°F	Outdoor
Oregon	80°F and 90°F heat index, paid cool-down at 90°F+	Outdoor
Maryland	Heat index 80°F initial, 90°F high heat	Indoor and outdoor
Nevada	No fixed number. Written plan required from a hazard assessment	Indoor and outdoor
Colorado	HB 26-1272, effective 12 August 2026. A framework, so read the fine print	Indoor and outdoor
Minnesota	Hard indoor limits, 2-hour average WBGT: 86°F light, 80°F moderate, 77°F heavy	Indoor

Minnesota is the one that behaves the way people expect a law to behave. Its numbers are permissible exposure limits, not triggers for paperwork, and they get stricter as the work gets harder. Every other state sets a point at which duties begin rather than a point at which work must stop. Texas, Florida and Arizona have no state heat rule at all: see Texas, Florida and Arizona for what applies there instead. Full directory: heat safety laws by state.

The question behind the question

Can I refuse to work because it is too hot?

Sometimes, but the bar is high and it is worth knowing exactly where it sits before you rely on it. OSHA's right to refuse dangerous work requires all four of these to be true at the same time.

You asked first. Where possible, you asked the employer to eliminate the danger and they failed to do so.

Good faith. You genuinely believe an imminent danger exists, not that conditions are unpleasant.

A reasonable person agrees. There is a real danger of death or serious injury, judged objectively.

No time to escalate. The hazard is urgent enough that regular enforcement channels cannot fix it in time.

Heat can clear that bar. A crew member showing confusion or slurred speech is an emergency, not a comfort complaint. Ordinary discomfort, even severe discomfort, generally does not clear it.

If an employer retaliates, the window is short. A retaliation complaint must be filed with OSHA within 30 days of the reprisal, on 1-800-321-OSHA (6742). You do not need documentation to make the call.

This is a plain-language summary of OSHA's published guidance on refusing dangerous work. It is not legal advice, and it does not cover union contract terms or state provisions that may give you more protection than the federal floor. If you think you are in this situation, call OSHA.

What is actually owed

No law requires air conditioning. Several require outcomes.

This is the part employers most often get wrong in both directions. The state standards do not tell you what equipment to buy. They tell you what has to be true on site, and leave the method open.

Required	Not required
Drinking water, accessible from the work	Air conditioning
Shade or a genuinely cool-down area	A specific brand or type of cooling gear
Rest breaks, paid in several states	Sending everyone home at a set temperature
Acclimatization for new and returning workers	Any particular thermometer or index, in most states
A written plan, and training on it	Personal cooling equipment, which is the bottom rung

Every one of these hierarchies puts engineering and administrative controls above personal protective equipment, and cooling gear is PPE. It extends the safe productive time between the breaks the rule already requires. It does not replace the water, the shade, the rest or the plan, and we will not tell you it does. If you are building that plan, the heat index break chart is the practical starting point.

FAQ

Straight answers.

Is there a law that says it is too hot to work?

Not federally. There is no US law that sets a maximum working temperature, and OSHA does not publish one. No number exists above which work must legally stop. What exists instead is a general duty to keep the workplace free of recognized hazards, which is how heat gets cited federally, plus a growing set of state rules that do contain real numbers. Whether a specific temperature triggers anything for you depends entirely on which state you are working in.

What are the OSHA regulations for temperature in the workplace?

There is no OSHA standard that sets a workplace temperature limit, hot or cold. Heat is enforced under the General Duty Clause, section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, which requires employers to keep the workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm. OSHA's own Technical Manual notes that workplaces above 70°F may have a heat hazard present when the work is at or above a moderate workload, which is a lower bar than most employers assume. A federal heat standard has been proposed but is not in force: a supplemental notice is scheduled for December 2026 with final action targeted for October 2027.

Can I refuse to work because it is too hot?

Only in narrow circumstances. OSHA's right to refuse dangerous work requires all four of these at once: you asked the employer to eliminate the danger where possible and they did not; you refused in good faith, meaning you genuinely believe an imminent danger exists; a reasonable person would agree there is a real danger of death or serious injury; and there is not enough time to get it corrected through regular enforcement channels. Heat can meet that bar, but ordinary discomfort does not. If an employer retaliates, a complaint must be filed with OSHA within 30 days of the reprisal, on 1-800-321-OSHA. This is a summary of OSHA's published guidance, not legal advice.

Which states have a law about working in the heat?

Seven states enforce their own heat rules: California, Washington, Oregon, Maryland, Nevada, Colorado and Minnesota. Most set an initial trigger around 80°F and a high-heat trigger around 90°F, usually measured as heat index. California and Maryland cover indoor work as well as outdoor. Minnesota is the outlier and the strictest in form: it sets hard indoor limits as a two-hour average WBGT of 86°F for light work, 80°F for moderate and 77°F for heavy, which are permissible exposure limits rather than triggers. Everywhere else, only the federal General Duty Clause applies.

What temperature is legally too hot to work in an office?

There is no legal maximum for an office either. OSHA does not set office temperature requirements and treats thermal comfort as a matter for the employer rather than a citable standard in most cases. The state rules that do exist are aimed at heat-exposed work such as construction, agriculture, warehousing and manufacturing, not at an uncomfortable office. The exception is California's indoor rule, section 3396, which applies to most indoor workplaces once the temperature reaches 82°F.

Does an employer have to provide air conditioning?

No US rule requires air conditioning. The state standards require outcomes rather than equipment: access to drinking water, shade or a genuinely cool-down area, rest breaks, acclimatization for new and returning workers, training, and a written plan. How the employer achieves that is left open, which is why engineering controls, schedule changes and personal cooling all count. Personal cooling is the bottom rung of that hierarchy, not a substitute for water, rest and shade.

Is there a law that says it is too hot to work?

What are the OSHA regulations for temperature in the workplace?

Seven states have written a number down.

Can I refuse to work because it is too hot?

No law requires air conditioning. Several require outcomes.

Straight answers.

Keep reading.

Heat Safety Laws by State

Heat Index Break Chart

OSHA Heat Standard

Cooling that lasts the whole shift.