Over the past several months, OSHA has released numerous updates regarding changes to the National Heat Emphasis Program—topics we’ve previously explored in our blogs, OSHA Updates its Heat National Emphasis Program and State OSH Plans and State Legislatures Press Ahead with Unique Heat Illness Prevention Rules and Laws.
Below, we highlight the latest developments from Colorado, where House Bill 26-1272 will take effect on August 12, 2026.
UPDATE: Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 26-1272, “Extreme Temperatures Worker Protections,” into law on June 4, 2026, establishing a phased framework for protecting all Colorado workers from extreme heat and cold conditions. As such, Colorado is the first federal OSHA state to enact comprehensive worker protections for both heat and cold in general industry. (Colorado has had heat-related protections for agricultural workers since 2022. Employers in agricultural sectors remain subject to the existing Agricultural Labor Conditions Rules.)
The law takes effect on August 12, 2026.
As previously report, key provisions of the law include:
- Data Collection (by January 15, 2027): The Division of Labor Standards and Statistics (Division) must begin collecting data, including temperature-related injury, illness, or emergencies at worksites. This includes developing a platform on the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s (CDLE) website for users to report temperature-related incidents, obtaining data from the Department of Public Health and Environment’s syndromic surveillance program, and working with the Division of Workers’ Compensation and the Center for Improving Value in Health Care.
- Model Plan (by July 1, 2028): The Division must develop a model Temperature-Related Injury and Illness Prevention Plan (TRIIPP) that will be made available on the CDLE website for employers to use as a resource. The Division must also review and update the model TRIIPP at least every five years.
- Rulemaking Authority: The law grants the Division authority to adopt rules necessary to implement its provisions. Accordingly, while the current law does not mandate that employers develop their own site-specific TRIIPPs or prescribe specific temperature thresholds, this rulemaking authority preserves the possibility of future enforceable standards.
Although the new law does not currently impose prescriptive workplace protocols for non-agricultural workers, employers in general industry in Colorado are well-advised to keep an eye out for binding requirements that could follow once data collection is complete and the model TRIIPP is developed. As previously reported, those requirements may entail topics such as temperature metrics and thresholds triggering protective measures, monitoring protocols, cool-down or warm-up breaks, potable water, climate-appropriate rest areas, emergency response procedures, and employee training. Employers should begin the process, if not started already, to evaluate employee exposures to hot/cold temperatures, existing programs, plans, procedures, as well as controls, safe work practices, and training requirements.
As we have previously reported, without a federal heat illness prevention standard, this type of state-by-state rulemaking and legislation – including in states like Colorado that are otherwise under federal OSHA jurisdiction – is creating a complex “patchwork” legal and regulatory landscape. Our coalition and many other industry groups have been advocating for federal OSHA to overhaul and advance, rather than sit on, its heat illness prevention rulemaking. We will continue to monitor developments related to heat illness prevention requirements and will provide updates as additional guidance becomes available. If you have any questions or are interested in joining our Employers Heat Illness Prevention Coalition, please contact Eric Conn at econn@connmaciel.com and Beeta Lashkari at blashkari@connmaciel.com.
