OPINION: EIB proposals are commonsense and humane

As climate change accelerates, New Mexico is getting hotter. Our summers are longer, our highs are higher, and every year brings new records for extreme heat. This isn’t a distant threat — it’s here, now. And for thousands of New Mexico’s workers, especially those laboring outdoors or in non-air-conditioned workplaces, heat is not just uncomfortable. It’s deadly.

That’s why the New Mexico Environment Department’s proposed Occupational Heat Illness and Injury Prevention Rule is so urgently needed. This standard would require employers to implement basic, life-saving protections — access to water and shade, rest breaks, emergency response plans and training to recognize signs of heat illness. It’s a commonsense step to prevent suffering, hospitalizations and fatalities. It also reflects the values we hold as New Mexicans: fairness, dignity and respect for the people whose labor sustains our economy.

But now, with the rule nearing the public hearing stage, industry groups are pressuring the state to delay the rulemaking. They claim the rule will harm business, that it’s too complex or too soon, and that we should just wait and see if the federal government eventually acts. These arguments are not new, and they’re not credible.

Let’s be clear: The cost of inaction is far greater. Without enforceable heat protections, workers across New Mexico — particularly those in agriculture, construction, food service and warehousing — will continue to face dangerous, sometimes fatal, conditions. Also, consequences are not just immediate; chronic exposure to heat can cause long-term damage to the body. Since 2024, over 140 New Mexico workers have filed complaints about dangerous heat on the job. And those are just the reported cases. Many more go unreported due to fear, immigration status or lack of access to health care.

These workers are disproportionately people of color, immigrants and low-wage earners. Delaying this rule is not a neutral act. It is a decision that will cost lives, deepen inequality and signal to our most vulnerable communities that their well-being comes second to corporate convenience.

It is also shortsighted. Businesses that take care of their workers see lower turnover, higher productivity, and fewer costly medical emergencies or liability issues. And many employers are already informally implementing aspects of this rule. This standard simply levels the playing field and ensures that every worker in New Mexico, regardless of employer, gets basic protections from extreme heat.

As a state, we pride ourselves on being a national leader in climate and public health policy. New Mexico was the first state in the country to propose such a comprehensive, leading workplace heat rule. If we give in to pressure to delay or water it down, we risk undermining that leadership and endangering the very people our policies are supposed to protect.

The Environment Department has conducted a thorough, inclusive stakeholder process. Workers, health experts, educators and advocates have shown up at every step, voicing overwhelming support for this rule. Now is the time to listen — to science, to lived experience and to our values.

We urge Secretary James Kenney and the executive administration to move forward without delay. New Mexico’s workers have waited long enough. They can’t wait through another record-breaking summer.