The Florida legislature passed a bill on Friday that prevents any city, county, or municipality in the state from adopting legislation aimed at protecting outdoor workers from extreme heat, prompting many to call out lawmakers for being “cruel” to the “most vulnerable workers”.

Efforts to ensure potentially life-saving water breaks, rest and shade for construction and agriculture workers have failed largely due to industry pressure, a growing trend across south-western states, where heat related deaths are on the rise.

At present, there are no federal standards to protect outdoor workers in the US from heat and humidity...

The newly passed legislation will affect roughly 2 million outdoor workers across the state and render existing local protections “void and prohibited” from 1 July.

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