S.B.

427

SENATE BILL NO. 427–COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

MARCH 27, 2023
____________
Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to occupational safety
and health. (BDR 53-682)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: Yes.
CONTAINS UNFUNDED MANDATE (§ 1)
(NOT REQUESTED BY AFFECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT)

EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

AN ACT relating to occupational safety; revising the requirements

of written safety programs in certain workplaces to
include programs and training related to the mitigation of
heat illness and exposure to poor air quality; and
providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
1 Existing law requires the Division of Industrial Relations of the Department of
2 Business and Industry to provide for the establishment and supervision of programs
3 for the education and training of employers and employees on certain unsafe or
4 unhealthful working conditions. (NRS 618.353) Existing law requires certain
5 employers to establish a written safety program and implement the safety program
6 within 90 days after it is established. (NRS 618.383) This bill requires such a
7 written safety program to include: (1) a program to mitigate heat illness on any day
8 that the temperature is expected to be 95 degrees Fahrenheit or greater; (2) a
9 training program for employees who may be affected by issues related to heat
10 illness; (3) a program to mitigate exposure to poor air quality on any day that
11 employees are exposed to air with an Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality
12 Index value of 201 or greater; and (4) a training program for employees who may
13 be exposed to poor air quality on the hazards of working without personal
14 protection equipment. This bill further requires these programs and training to be
15 conducted and made available in a language and format that is understandable to
16 each employee.

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THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

1 Section 1. NRS 618.383 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2 618.383 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 8 and
3 9, an employer shall establish a written safety program and carry out
4 the requirements of the program within 90 days after it is
5 established.
6 2. The written safety program must include:
7 (a) The establishment of a training program for employees
8 concerning safety in the workplace, particularly in those areas where
9 there have been recurring injuries or where explosives are
10 manufactured.
11 (b) The establishment of a program to mitigate heat illness on
12 any day that the expected temperature is 95 degrees Fahrenheit or
13 greater regardless of whether employees work outdoors or in an
14 indoor setting without climate control. The program must include,
15 without limitation, the provision of:
16 (1) Not less than one quart of fresh, pure and cool potable
17 drinking water per employee for each hour the employee is
18 required to work;
19 (2) Access by an employee to an area with shade that is
20 open to the air or provided with ventilation or cooling;
21 (3) Mandatory breaks for employees for a period not less
22 than 10 minutes for each hour the employee is required to work to
23 prevent the occurrence of heat illness;
24 (4) A system for monitoring employees for signs of heat
25 illness; and
26 (5) Procedures for responding to a medical emergency
27 related to heat illness.
28 (c) The establishment of a training program for employees
29 who may be affected by issues related to heat illness, which must
30 include, without limitation, information regarding:
31 (1) The different types of heat illness and the common signs
32 and symptoms of heat illness;
33 (2) Working conditions in which heat illness may occur;
34 (3) The importance of acclimatization; and
35 (4) Recovery procedures after experiencing heat illness.
36 (d) The establishment of a program to mitigate exposure to
37 poor air quality on any day employees are exposed to air with an
38 Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Index value of 201
39 or greater. The program must include, without limitation, the
40 provision of:

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1 (1) Proper respiratory protection equipment, which may

2 include, without limitation, disposable filtering facepiece
3 respirators, half facepiece respirators or full facepiece respirators;
4 (2) Not less than one quart of fresh, pure and cool potable
5 drinking water per employee for each hour the employee is
6 required to work;
7 (3) Access by an employee to an indoor environment with
8 appropriate ventilation and air filtering;
9 (4) Mandatory breaks for employees for a period not less
10 than 10 minutes for each hour the employee is required to work;
11 and
12 (5) A system for monitoring employees for signs of health
13 effects resulting from exposure to poor air quality as a result of
14 wildfire smoke.
15 (e) The establishment of a training program for employees
16 who may be exposed to poor air quality on the hazards of working
17 without personal protection equipment.
18 (f) If an employer has more than 25 employees, or if an
19 employer’s employees are engaged in the manufacture of
20 explosives, the establishment of a safety committee. The safety
21 committee must include representatives of employees. If the
22 employees are represented by a labor organization, the
23 representatives of employees must be selected by the employees and
24 not appointed by the employer.
25 3. A representative of employees while engaging in the
26 business of a safety committee, including attendance at meetings,
27 authorized inspections or any other activity of the committee, must
28 be paid by his or her employer as if that employee were engaged in
29 the employee’s usual work activities.
30 4. The written safety program , program to mitigate heat
31 illness, program to mitigate exposure to poor air quality and all
32 training programs required pursuant to this section must be
33 conducted and made available in a language and format that is
34 understandable to each employee.
35 5. The Administrator of the Division shall adopt regulations
36 establishing the minimum requirements for a written safety
37 program.
38 6. The Administrator of the Division shall develop and provide
39 each employer with a written guide for establishing a written safety
40 program.
41 7. An employer who contracts with a temporary employment
42 service shall provide specialized training concerning safety for the
43 employees of the service before they begin work at each site or as
44 soon as possible thereafter.

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1 8. An employer who has 10 or fewer employees is exempted

2 from the provisions of this section unless the employer has
3 employees engaged in the manufacture of explosives.
4 9. For the purposes of this section, an employer in the mining
5 industry shall not be deemed to be a manufacturer of explosives.
6 10. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 11, as used in
7 this section, “explosives” means gunpowders, powders used for
8 blasting, all forms of high explosives, blasting materials, fuses other
9 than electric circuit breakers, detonators and other detonating
10 agents, smokeless powders, other explosive or incendiary devices
11 and any chemical compound, mechanical mixture or device that
12 contains any oxidizing and combustible units, or other ingredients,
13 in such proportions, quantities or packing that ignition by fire,
14 friction, concussion, percussion or detonation of the compound,
15 mixture or device or any part thereof may cause an explosion.
16 11. For the purposes of this section, an explosive does not
17 include:
18 (a) Ammunition for small arms, or any component thereof;
19 (b) Black powder commercially manufactured in quantities that
20 do not exceed 50 pounds, percussion caps, safety and pyrotechnic
21 fuses, quills, quick and slow matches, and friction primers that are
22 intended to be used solely for sporting, recreation or cultural
23 purposes:
24 (1) In an antique firearm, as that term is defined in 18 U.S.C.
25 § 921(a)(16), as that section existed on January 1, 1999; or
26 (2) In an antique device which is exempted from the
27 definition of “destructive device” pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(4),
28 as that section existed on January 1, 1999; or
29 (c) Any explosive that is manufactured under the regulation of a
30 military department of the United States, or that is distributed to, or
31 possessed or stored by, the military or naval service or any other
32 agency of the United States, or an arsenal, a navy yard, a depot or
33 any other establishment owned by or operated on behalf of the
34 United States.
35 12. As used in this section:
36 (a) “Acclimatization” means the temporary adaptation of a
37 person’s body to work in the heat that occurs gradually when the
38 person is exposed to heat.
39 (b) “Heat illness” means a medical condition resulting from
40 the body’s inability to cope with a particular heat load and
41 includes, without limitation, heat cramps, heat rash, heat
42 exhaustion, fainting and heat stroke.
43 Sec. 2. The provisions of NRS 354.599 do not apply to any
44 additional expenses of a local government that are related to the
45 provisions of this act.

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1 Sec. 3. 1. This section becomes effective upon passage and

2 approval.
3 2. Sections 1 and 2 of this act become effective:
4 (a) Upon passage and approval for the purpose of adopting any
5 regulations and performing any other preparatory administrative
6 tasks that are necessary to carry out the provisions of this act; and
7 (b) On January 1, 2024, for all other purposes.
H

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