Phoenix updates workplace heat safety ordinance to add protections against retaliation

The city of Phoenix is adding more protections for outdoor workers exposed to extreme heat.

The city in 2024 began requiring city contractors, including employers at Sky Harbor Airport, to provide water, shade and heat safety training for outdoor workers.

But after the ordinance took effect, airport workers continued to voice concerns that their employers were skirting some of the rules.

During a Feb. 4 meeting, the City Council voted unanimously to amend the ordinance to add protections against retaliation for workers and new reporting requirements for employers.

“It is about making sure no worker on a city-funded project is asked to risk their health or their life because accountability was optional,” Councilwoman Betty Guardado said during the Feb. 4 meeting.

The original heat ordinance required vehicles with enclosed cabs on jobsites to have air conditioning. Starting in April, city contractors will also be required to keep logs documenting that air conditioning in vehicles is functioning.

The original ordinance required employers to have a written heat safety plan. Under the new amendment, those heat safety plans are now also required to include language stating that the employer will not retaliate against workers who report violations of the heat rules.

“Every outdoor worker deserves to know that their health matters, that their concerns will be heard and that the city stands behind them,” Guardado said.

Guardado said the city will also now have more authority when heat protections are not followed.

The city has hired a new coordinator who will oversee the heat ordinance at the airport. And the amendment says any contractor sanctioned under the heat ordinance will be disqualified from entering into a contract with the city for a year.

The updates to Phoenix’s workplace heat rules come as the Industrial Commission of Arizona is considering implementing heat safety rules that would apply to workers statewide. That process is ongoing.

This article was produced as a project for USC Annenberg’s Center for Climate Journalism and Communication and Center for Health Journalism 2025 Health and Climate Change Reporting Fellowship.