Transcript:

Working a long shift in intense heat can be dangerous, whether it’s in a sunny farm field or a sweltering restaurant kitchen.

People working in these conditions can get seriously ill or even suffer a potentially fatal heat stroke.

Gaurav Vasisht of the New York State Insurance Fund says an analysis by his group showed that workers’ compensation claims were much more common on very hot days.

Vasisht: “Injuries on average were 45% more likely and 20% more severe.”

And global warming is bringing more extreme heat.

So last year, the New York State Insurance Fund began offering a program to help small businesses in industries such as construction, manufacturing, and farming buy fans, cooling vests, ventilated hard hats, and other personal protective equipment, or PPE, for their employees.

Vasisht: “This is a 10% premium credit up to $1,000 that’s available to small businesses that purchase PPE to protect their employees from the effects of climate change, of extreme heat.”

Vasisht says the program is already making an impact.

Vasisht: “People have come up to us and said that they’ve been able to purchase PPE that they wouldn’t have been able to purchase. … It’s pretty heartening to hear that.”

Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media