Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH)
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Preventing and Responding to Heat Illness
I. Effective Work Practices
7. Appropriate Work Clothing and Personal Protective Equipment
Appropriate Work Clothing
Employees should be required to wear appropriate work clothing which protects against the sun and other environmental risk factors. The appropriate types of work clothing depend on the environmental risk factors present at a specific work location on a given day.
In general, appropriate work clothing for employees working at locations where they are at risk of heat illness include:
- Lightweight, loose fitting clothes made of breathable fabric which allow airflow and air movement to the body to aid in cooling
- Note - employees should not wear loose fitting clothes when working near moving machinery because of the danger of entanglement
- Light-colored clothes because they reflect the heat better than dark-colored clothes (which tend to absorb heat)
- A wide-brim hat with attached fabric to provide shade to the head, neck, face and eyes
- Long sleeve shirts to cover the body and avoid sunburn. Sunburn affects the body’s ability to cool itself and increases the loss of body fluid
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Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
It is important for employees wearing PPE, which covers the upper or lower body or face, not to work alone in warm or hot conditions. When employees wear this type of PPE in these conditions it may require you to take additional steps to prevent heat illness including (but not limited to):
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Employees applying pesticides and wearing PPE must follow all applicable regulations including, but not limited to T3 CCR 6724 (b)(9) < 6738 (g).
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