As summer heats up, Mamdani administration takes bold, whole-of-government approach to keeping New Yorkers safe
Executive Order directs development of new safeguards for the 1.4 million New Yorkers who work outdoors
Multilingual guidance, agency heat illness prevention plans and new public health research ordered as part of sweeping action
Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani signed an Executive Order directing a whole-of-government response to protect workers from extreme heat — the first initiative of its kind in New York City history.
Joined by labor unions, community organizations, City agency commissioners and workers, Mayor Mamdani signed the order at City Hall, underscoring his administration's commitment to centering working people in government. The Executive Order builds on NYC Emergency Management's (NYCEM) existing Beat the Heat program for residents by extending similar attention and resources to workers who have long faced rising temperatures without comparable protections.
“No one should have to choose between their paycheck and their health,” said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani. “The workers building our skyline, delivering our packages, selling food on our street corners and keeping this city running deserve to come home safe at the end of every shift. In the past, workers have borne the burden of extreme heat while government looked the other way. We’re changing that because every worker’s life is worth protecting. As summer heats up, we’re taking a whole-of-government approach to keeping New Yorkers prepared, safe and cool.”
The Executive Order directs the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), NYCEM and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) to develop and distribute multilingual heat safety guidance for outdoor workers as soon as practicable this year. Guidance for indoor workers will be issued by March 1, 2027.
The order also requires every mayoral agency to develop and implement heat illness prevention plans for City employees and contractors. DOHMH is directed to study the relationship between extreme heat and workers' compensation claims and evaluate whether heat illness should be designated a reportable health condition. The Department of Buildings (DOB) will review and strengthen construction site heat safety requirements, with recommendations due by March 1, 2027. The order also reinforces existing protections for outdoor workers, including access to bathrooms and workplace reporting requirements.
The Executive Order is part of the administration’s broader heat preparedness strategy. Earlier this month, Mayor Mamdani released a public service announcement
More than 1.4 million New Yorkers — one-third of the city's workforce — spend extended periods working outdoors each summer, including construction workers, day laborers, street vendors, delivery workers, truck drivers and warehouse workers. Heat contributes to 500 deaths in New York City each year, making it one of the deadliest weather-related hazards facing New Yorkers.
“Workers built New York and are the backbone of our great city,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “New Yorkers should never have to risk their lives to earn a living, but too often, workers are forced to endure dangerous and unbearable heat without the protections they need to stay safe. I have fought for years to enact stronger heat protections for workers nationwide, and I am grateful to Mayor Mamdani for taking action with today’s executive order.”
“Worker protection is the foundation of everything this administration stands for,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su. "Heat doesn't discriminate, but its consequences do — falling hardest on the workers who already face the steepest climb. Today, we are making clear that the dignity of every worker in this city is worth protecting, whether they are building our skyline, delivering our packages, or stocking our shelves. This Executive Order is a promise to those workers: City Hall has your back.”
“The health consequences of extreme heat fall with devastating inequality on our most vulnerable communities,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Helen Arteaga. “Black New Yorkers are dying of heat stroke at twice the rate of white New Yorkers, and Latino workers are disproportionately exposed on job sites and in warehouses across this city. That is not a weather problem — that is a justice problem. This Executive Order is a step toward a city where you work and live do not determine whether you survive the summer.”
“Extreme heat kills — and it hits especially hard for the neighbors working long hours outdoors, without shade, without air conditioning, without breaks,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson. “This administration is committed to pulling every lever to prepare New Yorkers for dangerous conditions and mobilizing every agency and partner to connect people with the resources that protect their health and well-being. Today, we direct that commitment squarely at worker justice — because the people who keep this city running every single day deserve jobs and workplaces that keep them safe.”
“Heat has taken the lives of more New Yorkers than any other weather hazard, and the workers most exposed to it deserve real protection,” said NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Christina Farrell. “NYCEM coordinates the city's heat response every season, and under this Executive Order we will work alongside our partners to develop heat safety guidance, deliver it in the languages New Yorkers speak, and keep the public informed. This is a city and administration choosing to lead on protecting its workers, and Emergency Management is proud to be part of that work.”
“Extreme heat is one of the most serious risks facing workers across our city and DCAS is proud to be a part of this administration's whole-of-government effort to keep New Yorkers safe,” said DCAS Commissioner Yume Kitasei. “By developing clear multilingual guidance and supporting heat illness prevention plans across city agencies, we are giving agencies the tools they need to recognize risks and prevent illness, protecting the people who keep New York City running.”
“Extreme heat kills, and it kills unequally,” said NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin. “Our data show that Black New Yorkers bear a disproportionate burden of heat-related illness and death, and that outdoor and indoor workers alike are among the most exposed populations in the city. This Executive Order gives the NYC Health Department the mandate and tools to better understand and address that burden. Through new research on heat and workers’ compensation and guidance that meets workers where they are in the languages they speak, we are stepping up to protecting New Yorkers who are the most vulnerable to the heat.”
“Extreme heat is a workplace hazard that deserves the same preventive measures, awareness, and response as any other threat to worker safety,” said Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani. “DOB enforces some of the most robust safety training requirements for construction sites anywhere across the globe, which has contributed to a major sustained decline in building construction related injuries in recent years. Under the Mayor’s leadership this administration is moving to better protect working New Yorkers from the dangers of heat illness, building on our progress to improve safety for both construction workers and the public.”
The Executive Order was developed in partnership with the TEMP Coalition, the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, 32BJ SEIU and dozens of labor unions and community organizations that have spent years advocating for stronger heat protections for workers.
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