(Washington, D.C., July 2, 2025) – The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions should advance the nomination of David Keeling to lead the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) only if he commits to supporting a draft OSHA rule protecting workers from extreme heat, Climate Rights International said today. The nomination of Keeling, a former health and safety executive at UPS and Amazon, is set for a Committee vote on July 3, 2025.
Keeling’s past record and industry ties have raised concerns among labor and climate advocates. While he was a health and safety executive at UPS, the company refused driver requests to install air conditioning in delivery vehicles. Keeling’s most recent employer, Amazon, has received repeated citations in recent years for failing to protect U.S. warehouse workers from extreme heat. Both UPS and Amazon oppose OSHA’s draft rule.
“While corporations are making record profits, this summer workers around the U.S. are suffering from record heat on a daily basis,” said Brad Adams, Executive Director at Climate Rights International. “David Keeling spent decades at UPS and Amazon where workers suffered in extreme heat without adequate protections. If he’s learned from those failures, his confirmation hearing is the moment for him to make firm commitments to stand up to industry and deliver real protections for workers.”
Keeling’s nomination arrives at a critical juncture. Under the Biden administration, OSHA prepared its first-ever federal heat safety standard. The draft rule, which is still under consideration, is aimed at protecting approximately 36 million workers across numerous industries, including agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and delivery.
Extreme heat is one of the deadliest threats facing U.S. workers today. Continued exposure to high temperatures can cause or worsen a number of health issues, including dizziness, disorientation, diarrhea, vomiting, muscle cramping, respiratory problems, heart issues, vision changes, and loss of consciousness. On-the-job heat exposure also increases the risk of workplace injuries and accidents and can result in potentially fatal heat stroke. A recent report by World Weather Attribution, Climate Central, and the Red Cross concluded that half of the world’s population – including in the U.S. — experienced at least one extra month of extreme heat because of climate change in the past year. Left unchecked, these trends will intensify risks for millions of U.S.-based workers.
OSHA’s proposed heat standard offers a historic opportunity to establish baseline protections for workers exposed to dangerous temperatures. The draft rule would, for the first time at the federal level, require employers to implement heat illness prevention plans. It would also include triggers at certain temperatures to provide access to water, rest, and shade.
These protections remain vulnerable to industry lobbying and regulatory delays, Climate Rights International warned. As head of OSHA, Keeling must champion the strongest possible version of the rule, ensure it is finalized swiftly, and defend it against any attempts to weaken its content or enforcement.
“With dangerous and deadly temperatures becoming more common on job sites across the country, the federal government needs to adopt strong, enforceable national standards that reflect the severity of the climate crisis and its impact on workers,” said Adams. “If Keeling isn’t ready to name extreme heat as a crisis for workers, then he’s not ready for the job.”
Climate Rights International’s 2024 report “I Can’t Cool:” Extreme Heat and Human Rights in the Context of Climate Change”, explained how occupational heat exposure undermines workers’ rights to health, safe working conditions, and basic dignity. The report also outlines essential protections that go beyond the proposed OSHA rule, including establishing a heat stress threshold above which work must stop and setting limits on physical labor during peak heat hours.
Addressing extreme heat will require more than regulation, Climate Rights International said. Meaningful action will require sustained investment in prevention, enforcement, and education. Congress must provide OSHA with expanded funding for heat-related inspections, support research into heat-adaptive technologies and infrastructure, and build partnerships with state and local agencies to reach high-risk workers.
“Extreme heat is not a future threat for millions of workers, it’s a present emergency,” said Adams. “Workers are collapsing and dying. The Senate should only confirm a nominee who is ready to lead with urgency, finalize a strong heat standard, and invest in the tools needed to protect workers.”
