NYC Comptroller Lander’s New Report Reveals City’s Outdoor Workers Face Increased Vulnerability and Need for Protections from Heat Amid Climate Change

New York, NY — New York City Comptroller Brad Lander today released “Safeguarding Outdoor Workers in a Changing Climate,” a report that highlights the need for stronger protections for outdoor workers facing the growing risks of climate change, especially extreme heat. The report comes at a time when extreme weather events—such as intense heat waves and deteriorating air quality due to wildfire smoke—have become more frequent, placing outdoor workers at heightened risk.

“This summer was the hottest ever on earth, breaking last year’s record, and sadly next year will probably be hotter still—our outdoor workers are on the front lines of these increasingly dangerous conditions,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. “With rising temperatures and worsening air quality, it’s essential for New York City to have stronger regulations in place to protect workers from the deadly risks of extreme heat.”

“New Yorkers could see a six-fold increase in days with a heat index above 95°F by the end of this decade,” said Chief Climate Officer Louise Yeung. “Extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in New York City. This is more than an uncomfortable inconvenience—it’s deadly. As New York City faces more heat waves and air quality emergencies, the City must ensure safe labor conditions for outdoor workers who face the brunt of climate impacts.”

“Climate emergencies like poor air quality and extreme heat claim lives and pose a severe risk to outdoor workers who put their health and safety on the line to provide essential services to New Yorkers,” said Claudia Henriquez, Director of Workers’ Rights. “Our office’s new report is a glimpse into that reality and its consequences. State and City officials must collaborate with workers, unions, and advocacy organizations to prioritize the protection of these workers by ensuring access to safe working conditions, necessary protective equipment, hydration, and proper breaks.”

The report finds that 1.4 million workers, or a third of New York City’s workforce, work outdoors for prolonged periods of time. The report provides a thorough analysis of the occupational health impacts associated with extreme weather for workers in sectors like construction, transportation, and street vending. These workers are disproportionately composed of non-citizen immigrants and Hispanic/Latino or Black individuals. Additionally, the report finds that the more outdoor exposure a job entails, the lower the wages, with an annual income decrease of $700 for every one percent increase in outdoor worker concentration.

Forecasts also indicate a potentially active wildfire season this year, which may mean more air quality emergencies in New York City. New York City experienced its first air quality emergency in June 2023, triggered by smoke from Canadian wildfires, which pushed the air quality index to hazardous levels. Poor air quality from wildfire smoke can lead to serious health issues, including cardiovascular problems, respiratory illnesses, and eye irritations. The City’s response was slow, leaving many outdoor workers without guidance or protective measures. The need for effective guidelines became evident again in June 2024 when high ozone levels caused by fossil fuel emissions prompted an air quality alert.

To address the growing threats of climate change thoroughly and sustainably, the report divides its recommendations into proposed employer requirements and public health initiatives. The proposed employer requirements build on existing proposed state legislation, such as the Temperature Extreme Mitigation Program (TEMP) Act, which is designed to protect workers in industries with high exposure to extreme temperatures by mandating essential safety measures. Additionally, the recommendations build on legislative actions aimed at significantly improving protections for outdoor workers across New York City.

The public health initiatives focus on broader efforts to support outdoor workers, including improved access to public facilities, emergency health protocols during extreme weather, and outreach programs to educate workers on safety measures.

Recommendations for Employer Requirements

• Pass the Temperature Extreme Mitigation Program (TEMP) Act: Sponsored by New York State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Harry Bronson, this legislation would mandate that employers provide essential protections against extreme heat, including water, shade, and rest breaks.
• Expand Outdoor Heat Standards: The City must extend heat protections to all outdoor workers in New York City, ensuring safe working conditions during heat waves for sectors not covered by the TEMP Act.
• Set Labor Standards for Unsafe Air Quality: The City must set new labor standards for unsafe air quality. This legislation will require employers to develop air quality illness prevention plans, ensuring access to safe air, personal protective equipment (PPE), and reduced strenuous activities during air quality emergencies.

Recommendations for Public Health Initiatives

• Collect and Publicly Report Data: The City should collect and report data on the occupational impacts of extreme weather to better understand and mitigate these risks.
• Develop Emergency Protocols: Protocols should be established to protect outdoor workers during extreme weather events, ensuring their health and safety.
• Expand Public Bathroom Access: Increased access to public bathrooms is essential, particularly in areas with high concentrations of outdoor workers.
• Reform the City Street Vending Code: Allow merchandise vendors to use shade structures to protect themselves from extreme heat.
• Establish a City PPE Distribution Program: In the event of air quality emergencies, the City should distribute PPE to outdoor workers with non-standard employment arrangements.
• Proactive Outreach and Education: A citywide outreach program should be developed to educate outdoor workers on how to stay safe during extreme weather conditions.

“As a legislator, I have a responsibility to make sure our laws keep pace with our reality. Essential workers are at the frontline of the climate crisis, and with an unchecked Supreme Court chipping away at federal agencies’ ability to protect workers, states need to step up,” said State Senator Jessica Ramos, Chair of the Senate Labor Committee. “I am dead set on passing TEMP, and I thank the Comptroller for providing me with the data to take back to Albany to help make my case.”

“As temperatures soared this summer, outdoor workers were forced to work in extreme heat to provide essential services and support to New York City. As NYC Comptroller Lander’s report illustrates, our workers are facing severe dangers in this climate and must have access to protective equipment, hydration, shelter and more to keep them safe,” said Assemblymember Harry Bronson, Assembly Chair of Labor. “It’s time to pass the TEMP Act, which I sponsor in the NYS Assembly, to ensure conditions that protect our workers from the dangerous effects of extreme heat while on the job.”

“With extreme heat deaths and poor air quality on the rise, we increase risks of worker fatalities, a metric we are trying to track and make public at the City Council through the Worker Fatality Act,” said Council Member Carmen De La Rosa, Chair of the City Council Committee on Civil Service and Labor. “This legislation would create a set of public data on workplace deaths that can be cited and investigated further, such as cause and location of death, and holds unscrupulous employers financially liable for their neglect and failure to provide required information. We must pass this legislation and give our workers an additional measure of protection and transparency.”

“This report highlights the harsh realities faced by our city’s outdoor workers–the very people who keep our communities running, yet are too often overlooked and neglected, especially as they endure increasingly extreme heat and hazardous air,” said Council Member Sandy Nurse. “As we confront the mounting challenges of the climate crisis, we have a moral duty to protect these workers and implement innovative worker-driven solutions to build the climate-resilient future our communities deserve.”

“Our members face serious threats to their health and safety from extreme temperatures. Thank you to Comptroller Lander for investigating this worker-safety emergency,” said Vincent Perrone, President of Local 804 IBT. “Without state action, employers will do nothing to protect their workers. These important bills must be passed.”

“Workplace health and safety is a top priority for the RWDSU, especially for our members that work in extreme temperatures,” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). “As the union that represents warehouse, distribution and other workers who work in extreme weather and temperature environments in New York, we know how much this can take a toll on worker health. Workers deserve regular breaks to warm up or cool down as well as access to a warm or cool indoor locations during those breaks depending on the season. That is why we support the TEMP Bill and applaud the effort to expand the outdoor heat standards to all workers in NYC as well as setting labor standards for working in unsafe air quality as our members experienced due to the Canadian wildfires in 2023.”

“NELP applauds the New York City Comptroller’s office for this important analysis of heat- and smoke-related dangers for the city’s outdoor workers,” said Anastasia Christman, Senior Policy Analyst at National Employment Law Project. “Too often worker illnesses, injuries, and even deaths from extreme heat or unsafe air quality are undercounted even as climate change makes both threats more frequent and more perilous. It is an injustice that underpaid workers of color are compelled to risk their lives to pursue their livelihoods, harming the workforce, their families, their communities, and the public health system. We join in calls for state and city lawmakers to implement strong protections that will safeguard workers during extreme heat and smoke events.”

“In extreme heat, smoke from wildfires, snowstorms and floods, a largely immigrant workforce of color risks serious injury performing the outdoor jobs that New York City relies on. That includes the city’s 65,000 app delivery workers – who now face the increasing threat of climate change among the many factors that make their occupation one of the most dangerous in the city,” said Ligia Guallpa, Executive Director of Worker’s Justice Project (WJP) and co-founder of Los Deliveristas Unidos. “Climate change is a workers’ rights issue and we must provide the necessary protections and infrastructure to ensure the safety of our city’s outdoor workers, who are among the most vulnerable due to the intersection of race, occupation, work location, immigration status and climate exposure. WJP is grateful to Comptroller Lander for being a steadfast advocate for all workers and for shining a light on the need to extend protections to workers whenever and wherever they work.”

“In a city where one in three workers is outdoors, extreme weather poses significant health risks. Undocumented workers and communities of color are disproportionately affected, facing lower wages and greater dangers,” said Charlie Jaya, Workforce Manager at La Colmena. “It’s crucial that we prioritize strong protections to ensure the safety and dignity of everyone who contributes to our city’s vibrancy. We are grateful to Comptroller Brad Lander for this report, which sheds light on the struggles of undocumented workers and their efforts to advocate for the Temperature Extreme Mitigation Program (TEMP) Act—an initiative aimed at implementing essential safety measures for those in high-risk industries.”

“Temperature stress is a life-threatening issue for workers in New York City, and worker deserve to be safe on the job, whether they work on a high rise in Manhattan, a bicycle in Queens, and anywhere in between. New York State must act during this legislative session to protect workers proactively and pass the TEMP Act,” said Charlene Obernauer, Executive Director of NYCOSH and founder of the TEMP Coalition.

“Outdoor workers are essential to this city. They provide and deliver food that feeds our families, help build our homes and buildings, and hold other critical jobs. Heat, other extreme weather, and bad air quality will pose more dangers to the lives and health of outdoor workers simply for being outside because of their jobs,” said Eddie Bautista, Executive Director, NYC Environmental Justice Alliance. “It is no surprise outdoor workers are disproportionately people of color with low wages and have the least access to resources and assistance. This report highlights some critical issues and ways to create the needed protections and labor standards for outdoor workers in a changing climate.”

This report was prepared by Matan Diner, Research and Policy Analyst for Workers’ Rights and Louise Yeung, Chief Climate Officer, with support from Rebecca Lynch, Deputy Director of Workers’ Rights, Sam Stanton, Senior Policy Researcher, Robert Callahan, Director of Data Analytics, and Macarena Moraga, Strategic Organizer for Workers’ Rights.

Read the full report here.

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