As temperatures climb, New York mayor orders new heat protections for outdoor workers

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order on Monday (June 22) aimed at protecting outdoor workers from extreme heat, directing city agencies to develop new safeguards as temperatures rise.

The order, which City Hall called the first initiative of its kind in New York City history, applies to more than 1.4 million New Yorkers who spend extended periods working outdoors, including construction workers, delivery workers, street vendors, truck drivers and warehouse workers.

"This executive order will launch a multilingual messaging campaign to protect workers from heat-related illness, require every city agency to create heat illness prevention plans," Mamdani said.

The order directs the city's health department, emergency management agency and Department of Citywide Administrative Services to develop multilingual heat safety guidance for outdoor workers this year. Guidance for indoor workers is due by March 1, 2027.

It also requires mayoral agencies to develop heat illness prevention plans for city employees and contractors, directs the Department of Buildings to review construction site heat safety requirements, and calls for new research into the link between extreme heat and workers' compensation claims.

Mamdani said heat kills more than 500 people in New York City each year, and that climate change is making summers more dangerous.

"Every year, more than 500 people in our city lose their lives due to the heat," Mamdani said. "And as climate change accelerates, summers are only growing hotter and more dangerous."

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who joined Mamdani at the signing, said outdoor workers face some of the greatest risks.

"Extreme heat is more than just being uncomfortable. Extreme heat is dangerous. Extreme heat kills," James said.

The order also reinforces existing protections, including bathroom access for food delivery workers and reporting requirements for heat-related workplace incidents.

Production, editing & writing: Christine Kiernan/Reuters