At the end of the California legislative session, Governor Newsom signed a myriad of employment law bills, including Assembly Bill (AB) 2243, which requires Cal/OSHA to submit to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board a proposal to consider revising the heat illness standard and the wildfire smoke standard for farm workers to reduce the Air Quality Index (AQI) for PM2.5 to 301 or greater for the provision of respiratory protective equipment.

Under AB 2243, Cal/OSHA must submit to the board a rulemaking proposal before December 1, 2025. The bill was strongly opposed and remains controversial because it circumvents the normal rulemaking process.

These revisions come at a time when Cal/OSHA is considering an Indoor Heat Safety Standard and already has robust heat illness and wildfire smoke standards.