We're facing 90 degree temperatures by the end of the week, kicking off what's been predicted to be a sizzling hot summer.

And that has workers rights groups worried.

They're pushing for the legislature to move forward, a bill that would put certain requirements in place for workers who face extreme heat at their jobs.

But as Ted Goldberg reports, it's not without opposition from business, industry advocates and the New Jersey Farm Bureau.

I experienced that extreme heat where I couldn't hold it.

In the morning.

I fainted while working.

Adriana Alvarez has worked at warehouses and factories for the last few decades.

She says it's not uncommon for workers to lose consciousness while working in the summer heat.

I saw a lot of our my my colleagues also fainted and feeling exhausted after work in so much in that extreme heat, especially in that company that I fainted, where they didn't provide any fan or any AC.

As climate change leads to hotter summers.

Workers rights groups like Make the Road New Jersey are worried about people who work outside, make the road help to write a bill that would give certain protections to workers when the weather gets really hot.

Things like to have a central AC in those warehouses and for the employers to provide fans to the employer's employees.

Because we are a lot of people on the assembly line and sometimes one fan is not enough for everyone.

And I'm frustrated that another summer, an intense summer of heat will go through without proper worker protections.

Senator Joseph Cryan sponsored the bill, which would require companies to do things like stop non-essential work during heat waves, provide easy access to water and provide paid rest time in shade or cool down areas.

It is stalled in the State House after facing opposition from big business and some agricultural groups.

This bill is really a one size fits all approach to something that can't be a one size fits all approach.

In late May, the New Jersey Farm Bureau sent Senator Cryan a letter criticizing his bill, saying, quote, Using a heat index of 80 degrees Fahrenheit is unduly burdensome and unnecessary as the effects of heat stress are not seen until a much higher degree.

And even then it is manageable with the proper precautions.

They also argue the bill would take a one size fits all approach to all industries across the state when creating a heat related illness and injury protection program.

It would be an impractical and virtually unimplemented program for agriculture.

What you'll hear is that the sky is falling and that this will create a burden that the New Jersey economy just can't bear.

That's not true.

This is necessary, common sense and needed for workers.

It's a coalition and includes things like school boards, everything from school boards to the Farm Bureau to some of the business groups that I think would rather go back to feudalism and actually protect some of their workers.

Critics have also said the bill is vague.

Senator Cryan has thoughts about that.

Vague is a Trenton term for we don't want it and this is how we're going to attack it.

The bill defines requires employers to have water available for employees within the immediate vicinity of an employee working.

But it doesn't define what immediate vicinity is.

The New Jersey Business and Industry Association says they've discussed the bill with Cryan and, say companies already take steps to protect their workers.

It's really hard to find workers willing to work in certain environments and just workers willing to work in any environment and in this state.

So our employers are treating employees better than they ever have.

Despite those efforts, nearly 500 American workers have died from heat related illnesses on the job nationwide between 2011 and 2022.

That's according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

OSHA is expected to introduce heat related rules in September after years of prep work.

But it might be a while before they're put into practice.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Ted Goldberg.

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