If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or need help, call 988 or message the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
As record heat becomes the norm rather than the exception, employers need to treat extreme heat the same way they do winter storms or hurricanes: with a plan. That means updating policies to clarify when employees should be moved indoors and when outdoor operations—like patios or drive-thrus—should be paused during heatwaves. If you have outdoor workers (think servers on patios or drive-thru attendants), managers should be trained to recognize and respond to early signs of heat illness. Heat stress can escalate quickly and lead to hospitalization or worse if not caught in time.
Even indoor employees are at risk, especially in kitchens. Only a handful of states have permanent indoor heat regulations, but many others have legislation in progress. Use our ZHH tools or connect with our team if you need help updating your policies or rolling out training.
Extreme heat can also drive a rise in other illnesses. Insect-borne diseases like dengue, West Nile, and Lyme become more common as temperatures rise. And as heatwaves push people indoors into shared, air-conditioned spaces, we may see less of a summer break from respiratory viruses, since indoor crowding mimics winter conditions. Over time, employers should plan for more sick days and growing health impacts tied to heat.
Rabies is a virus spread via body fluids, usually from a scratch or bite of an infected wild animal like raccoons and bats. Once symptoms begin, rabies is nearly 100% fatal, but it can take months for symptoms to develop after being bitten or scratched.
Last month, a British woman died from rabies after a puppy scratched her leg on vacation. In April, a Michigan resident died from rabies in a transplanted organ, and last November, a California teacher died after being bitten by a bat without realizing it. Now, Nassau County on Long Island, New York has declared a public health threat due to the spread of rabies in local raccoons and feral cats.
If you’ve been bitten or scratched by an animal, there’s no need to panic, though. Contact your doctor or local health department for post-exposure prophylaxis, which prevents infection as long as you get it promptly. Ideally, it’s key to get that ASAP or within the first 24 hours.
Preventing rabies has more to do with making sure any pets or livestock are properly vaccinated, to keep your pets away from wild animals, and to avoid approaching wild animals yourself. If you are bitten or scratched by a bat, raccoon, or other animal that might have rabies, seek medical attention immediately. Getting rabies shots may be unpleasant, but the alternative is unthinkable.
It can be hard to understand how hot is too hot for outdoor workers. While it’s not winning any beauty awards, this app from NIOSH and partners at OSHA and CDC can help managers calculate the heat index and understand the risk level for outdoor employees. If you’re working on procedures, using their 3-tiered system (Caution, Warning, and Danger) may be useful. It also comes with handy info on symptoms and first aid for heat illness:
Heat Safety Tool | Occupational Safety and Health Administration