Rep. Mark Messmer (R-Ind.) has introduced legislation that would repeal the Biden administration’s proposed OSHA rule on heat injury prevention in the workforce, which would impose impracticable requirements on residential construction employers.

In a press release announcing the bill, Messmer said the Heat Workforce Standards Act of 2025 “repeals sweeping and unworkable Biden administration heat standards that had threatened to impel unnecessary mandates and excessive federal penalties upon American businesses and institutions.”

“Needless to say, California, Florida, and Michigan are miles apart when it comes to heat, and heat hazards in construction are very different from the hazards in manufacturing or agriculture,” added House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Minn.) “That is why any standard intended to prevent and reduce heat-related injuries must be flexible and keep workers safe in ways that best address their unique environments and challenges.”

NAHB has been working tirelessly to advocate for a flexible, performance-based alternative to OSHA’s proposed rule on heat injury prevention in the workplace, including participation in informal public hearings and the submission of formal comments. 

While NAHB strongly supports regulations that reduce workplace injuries and illnesses throughout the residential construction industry, the proposed rule imposes impracticable requirements that are not sufficiently tailored to heat hazard mitigation and prevention outcomes. 

Compliance with the proposed rule would require a degree of operational regularity not present on dynamic construction jobsites, and a uniformity of management control not compatible with the construction subcontracting model.

NAHB previously urged OSHA to ensure that any heat stress standard allow NAHB members the flexibility to continue implementing successful heat hazard awareness and training programs that are consistent with the operational realities of residential construction work.

NAHB believes OSHA should propose a separate heat injury prevention standard specific to the construction industry.