A cold wave may have taken over the U.S. this past Thanksgiving weekend, but it’s summer heat that’s on the minds of some legislators. A new legislative effort to eliminate the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings rule could impact door and window companies, as well as the broader construction and manufacturing sectors. OSHA moved to fast-track the proposed rule near the end of the Biden administration, which opponents suggest would impose “unnecessary mandates and excessive federal penalties upon American businesses and institutions.” If enacted, the rule would require nearly every U.S. employer to follow “rigid, one-size-fits-all, federal workplace standards based on predetermined temperature thresholds, regardless of industry, climate or existing safety protocols,” opponents suggest.
On November 20, 2025, Rep. Mark Messmer (R-IN) introduced the Heat Workforce Standards Act of 2025 in the House of Representatives, a bill that would repeal OSHA’s proposed rule, calling it “sweeping and unworkable.” Objections center on the rule’s lack of flexibility and the projected cost of compliance. According to Messmer, such “heavy-handed” federal rules hinder growth.
“As a small business owner myself, I’ve seen how unwarranted, heavy-handed regulations can crush innovation, increase costs, and undermine the productivity of American institutions,” he said, further suggesting that the rule was “never about safety,” but about expanding federal control. “My Heat Workforce Standards Act empowers employers to maintain safe and realistic workplace standard parameters which allow for both their workers and the business to thrive,” Messmer said.
A key point of contention includes an attempt by OSHA to apply uniform thresholds across various industries and climates. The proposed standard would enforce specific federal requirements any time workers experience temperatures of 80°F for more than 15 minutes in an hour.
House Education and Workforce Committee chair Tim Walberg said the approach ignores regional and sector differences—a factor for industries such as fenestration.
“Needless to say, California, Florida and Michigan are miles apart when it comes to heat, and heat hazards in construction are very different from the hazards in manufacturing or agriculture,” Walberg said. “That is why any standard intended to prevent and reduce heat-related injuries must be flexible and keep workers safe in ways that best address their unique environments and challenges. The Biden-Harris proposed heat rule does not have that much-needed flexibility, which is why this bill is a necessary step in protecting workers and preventing federal overreach so we can help workers earn a living and get home safe.”
The opposing legislation has earned backing from several organizations, including the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). Dylan Rosnick, NFIB principal of Federal Government Relations, argued the proposed standard disregards steps small employers already take to protect workers and instead “would cripple small businesses, who work without government intervention to protect their employees’ health and safety, with more mandates and regulatory burdens.”
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has also opposed the federal rule, with officials warning that it would impose “impracticable requirements on residential construction employers.” Officials said they’re concerned that the rule would require “a degree of operational regularity not present on dynamic construction jobsites,” adding that its uniform expectations for management are incompatible with the common models for subcontracting.
Opponents of OSHA’s proposed rule also criticize temperature thresholds. The administration was considering an 86°F trigger for “high-heat” mandates, including specified water quantities per worker. NAHB noted that in southwestern states and other hot regions, 86°F is reached “during a majority of days throughout the year,” making a nationwide standard unrealistic.
Rep. Paul Gosar said the proposed Heat Workforce Standards Act aims to ensure that safety measures remain “practical, science-based and responsive to real-world conditions—not driven by Washington bureaucrats.” The bill would return primary authority for workplace heat safety standards to state governments, which are already required to maintain plans “at least as effective” as federal OSHA.