We know you care greatly and take steps to ensure the physical health, mental health, and overall well-being of your skilled employees and sub-contractors.
Our Association is concerned and closely following a proposed rule by the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board (NMEIB) that would shut down worksites when the heat index rises above 90 degrees and you’re working in the sun. Beyond lost productivity, the rule as proposed could easily result in employers shifting work schedules to late night or early morning (3AM?) hours which would be unhealthy for families and untenable for neighborhood association rules on construction activity.
The Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association / Northern New Mexico Builders Association fully supports proactive efforts to protect workers from heat-related illness and injury, AND we share AGC-NM’s concern that this rule imposes rigid, one-size-fits-all mandates that do not reflect the realities of construction work in New Mexico.
See the attached documents and links to bring yourself up to speed. The deadline to make public comment is May 30.
Three Actions:
- Educate Yourselves: Read the proposed rule and the materials below put together by our friends at the Associated General Contractors – New Mexico
- Let us know your concerns about how this would impact your worksites and if you support the “Reasonable Provisions” as outlined by AGC-NM below.
- Write to the NMEIB by the Deadline of May 30th and let them know how this would impact your work.
Read AGC New Mexico’s response and suggested action to the proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Rule currently under consideration by the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board (EIB).
After careful review and unanimous approval by the AGC NM Board of Directors, they finalized AGC NM’s official public comment letter. This letter opposes the proposed rule in its current form and urges a more practical, flexible, and health-centered approach to heat illness prevention.
Pending YOUR feedback, our Association’s Executive Committee will also consider a letter to the NM-EIB expressing your concerns and proposed amendments to the proposed rule.
∙ Mandatory Rest Breaks at 90°F for Construction Workers:
Construction is classified as “heavy labor.” With New Mexico’s regular summer temperatures exceeding 90°F—and the rule’s required 13°F adjustment for solar exposure, most job sites will routinely exceed the 103°F threshold. This would trigger a 40-minute paid rest break every 20 minutes of work, a schedule that is logistically unworkable.
∙ Operational Impacts:
Critical work like concrete pours and utility tie-ins requires continuous, coordinated labor. Imposing prolonged and frequent rest breaks undermines jobsite productivity and, ironically, increases safety risks by disrupting planned workflows.
∙ Labor Force Shortages:
The construction workforce in New Mexico remains approximately 11% below its 2006 peak. Contractors cannot rotate additional crews to compensate for forced downtime because there simply aren’t enough workers available.
∙ Mental Health and Workforce Wellbeing:
Construction already faces a national mental health crisis. Our industry’s suicide rate is over 3.5 times the national average, and it surpasses the rate of all other OSHA-covered fatalities combined. The U.S. Department of Labor and OSHA themselves warn that irregular shifts, extended work hours, and fatigue disrupt the circadian rhythm and significantly increase mental health risks (see: OSHA – Long Work Hours, Extended or Irregular Shifts, and Worker Fatigue).
By effectively forcing early morning or nighttime shifts to avoid temperature thresholds, this rule would intensify mental health stressors, diminish sleep quality, and create more risk.
∙ Financial Burdens:
The combined cost of downtime, schedule delays, and compliance infrastructure will significantly increase the cost of construction for both public and private sector projects. These cost burdens will ultimately be passed down to taxpayers and project owners.
∙ Logistical and Safety Concerns with Shift Timing:
Recommendations to perform work in early mornings or overnight hours fail to account for:
• Family and childcare obligations
• Apprenticeship or training classes typically held in the evenings
• Increased risk of injury due to reduced visibility and fatigue (see: OSHA – Extended/Unusual Work Shifts Guide)
• Diminished team cohesion
∙ Employer Responsibility Already Exists:
Employers are already bound by OSHA’s General Duty Clause and can be cited for failure to address heat-related hazards. The national Heat Illness Prevention Campaign, active since 2011, provides training, resources, and enforcement mechanisms to improve awareness and accountability.
∙ One-Size-Fits-All Rule Is Not Practical:
This rule attempts to apply uniform standards across vastly different industries and work environments. Such a rigid approach disregards practical, proven heat safety measures already implemented on New Mexico job sites. Responsible contractors should not be penalized for maintaining effective jobsite-specific safety protocols.
Reasonable Provisions Contractors Can Support:
Rather than imposing a rigid and unrealistic mandate, AGC NM recommends a revised framework that reflects field-tested, achievable safety practices.
1. Hydration
• Provide suitably cool drinking water per employee.
• Already standard practice across jobsites during the summer months.
2. Rest, Access to Shade & Cool-Down Areas
• Pop-up tents, shade trailers, or naturally shaded areas near the work zone.
• Allow access to cool-down rest as needed, not tied to a fixed schedule.
3. Heat Acclimatization
• New workers assigned to hot environments will receive pre-work Heat Illness Awareness Training to recognize symptoms, understand prevention strategies, and know when to seek help.
• Supervisors and crew leads will conduct regular check-ins with new or returning workers to monitor for signs of heat stress and ensure early intervention if needed.
4. High-Heat Administrative Controls (≥95°F)
• Use buddy systems, pre-shift safety briefings, and hydration reminders.
• Reinforces awareness without disrupting productivity.
5. Training & First Aid Preparedness
• Provide Heat Illness Prevention training during new hire orientation and annual safety refreshers.
• Ensure team leads and supervisors are trained to identify symptoms and respond to heat-related emergencies.
6. Written Heat Illness Prevention Plan (HIPP)
• Incorporate heat illness protocols into existing Injury & Illness Prevention Plans (IIPP).
• Avoid redundant documentation requirements.
7. No Excessive Recordkeeping or Scheduling Mandates
• Eliminate burdensome hourly records or rigid break schedules that are incompatible with construction workflow.
AGC New Mexico urges the Environmental Improvement Board to reject the current version of the rule and instead work collaboratively with the construction industry to craft a more flexible, outcome-based approach to heat safety.
Let’s protect our workforce without undermining it. Support a rule that reflects the realities of construction, values mental health, and rewards responsible safety practices.
——————————
This public comment was formally submitted through the state’s dedicated comment portal.
TAKE ACTION:
Make Your Voice Heard: Submit Your Own Public Comment
We strongly encourage all members to submit individual comments as well. Every voice strengthens our industry’s position.
Public Comment Portal: PUBLIC COMMENT ONLINE FORM/PORTAL HERE
Deadline: May 30th
Instructions:
• Identify yourself (company name, if applicable)
• Support AGC NM’s strategy: advocate for flexible, realistic heat safety measures
• Share real-world examples of how your company already protects workers from heat
• Emphasize the negative impacts of rigid break schedules and irregular shift work on mental health and jobsite safety
Public Comments – NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMENT.
We also urge all members to submit written public comment before the May 30th deadline. It is critical that regulators hear directly from employers about how this rule would them.
To submit comments or to request more information on the proposed regulations, you have various options; may do so by filing electronically via the Department’s public comment portal (link embedded below); by email to heatrule.comments@env.nm.
1. PUBLIC COMMENT ONLINE FORM/PORTAL HERE: https://www.env.nm.gov/
2. EMAIL: heatrule.comments@env.
3. MAIL: NMED-OHSB, Attn: Heat Illness and Injury Prevention, P.O. Box 5469, Santa Fe, NM, 87502
