Heat check card
Before the crew heads out: put in the forecast temperature and humidity and pick the rules you work under. The card gives the heat index, what it triggers, how much water to load, the rest schedule, and how long new and returning workers stay in the heat today.
The card appears here
Put in the temperature and the humidity.
Water
Rest
What else applies
Hours in the heat, new and returning workers
| Day | New to the work | Back after a week or more |
|---|
The rest of the day: work in the shade or indoors.
Put the heat lines on the crew's morning checklist: in tick-tock-done a daily checklist starts fresh every day, each tick shows who did it and when, and a line can ask for a photo of the coolers or the shade.
How it works
The heat index is the National Weather Service's: the simple formula first, then the Rothfusz regression with its low- and high-humidity adjustments, rounded to whole degrees. Full sun adds 13°F. The federal proposal, Oregon and Maryland count from the heat index; California's outdoor rule and Washington's count from the air temperature, so for those the card uses the thermometer reading.
The tiers: federal proposal (not in force) 80°F and 90°F, with a paid 15-minute break every 2 hours at 90. California 80°F (shade, water, cool-down on request) and 95°F (high-heat procedures). Washington 80°F, then a paid 10-minute cool-down every 2 hours at 90°F and 15 minutes every hour at 100°F. Oregon 80°F, then at 90°F a written rest schedule: the minimum is 10 minutes every 2 hours, 15 every hour from 100; its simplified schedule asks for 20, 30 and 40 minutes every hour at 95, 100 and 105. Maryland 80°F, then 10 minutes every 2 hours at 90 and 15 every hour at 100. A break is counted at each full interval before the shift ends.
Water is 1 quart (32 oz) per person per hour of the shift, the amount all four state rules and the federal proposal use, in 5-gallon coolers. New workers: no more than 20% of the shift in the heat on day 1, adding 20% a day; back after a week or more: 50, 60, 80 and 100% (NIOSH). What it leaves out: wet bulb globe temperature, clothing and work rate, California's indoor rule (section 3396), Washington's 52°F rule for non-breathable clothing, Nevada's job hazard analysis, and medical advice. These are the rules as we read them in October 2026; treat it as a check, not legal or medical advice.
The numbers behind it, the state rules in more detail and a worked day for a landscaping crew: Heat on outdoor crews: water, rest and shade, and where the OSHA heat rule stands.