The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says dozens of workers die every year from working in extreme heat and thousands become sick.

OSHA says most work-related heat deaths happen during the first days of working in the heat. In recent weeks, the Department of Labor has come closer to publishing proposed rules in an attempt to reduce the health risks of working in extreme heat outside and inside. OSHA will be in charge of enforcement.

OSHA continues to conduct heat-related inspections at workplaces under a program of outdoor and indoor heat-related hazards launched in 2022. They say this is because our bodies need to build a tolerance to working in the heat over time, called heat acclimatization.

The group says employers need to allow workers to gradually build tolerance if they are subjected to things like heavy physical activity in the heat or hot rooms like bakeries, kitchens or other workplaces that lack air conditioning during extreme temperatures.

"People don't take into account that heat illness can affect anyone," says Mike Scime from the OSHA, "not just someone who might be compromised medically or have some other risk factors."

OSHA says symptoms of heat-related illness include dizziness, headaches, nausea, weakness, irritability, confusion, thirst and profuse sweating.

Illness can be prevented with three simple steps: water, rest and shade. Drink water every 15 minutes even if you're not thirsty and take frequent breaks in a shaded environment to cool down. Wear a hat and light-colored clothes to reflect solar heat away, as dark clothes absorb the heat.