Worker Climate Hazards
Protecting Workers from Climate Hazards in Southern California’s Inland Empire
Executive Summary
Southern California’s Inland Empire – comprising Riverside and San Bernardino counties – is one of the fastest-growing regions in the state and a vital economic hub for the nation’s logistics industry. It is also at the epicenter of two converging crises: escalating climate change and rapid industrial expansion. With projections for more frequent and intense heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, and floods, the region’s workers are facing an unprecedented “cocktail” of occupational hazards. These threats are compounded by the significant air pollution generated by the region's growing logistics sector, which disproportionately impacts low-income communities of color.
This policy brief investigates the urgent need for a comprehensive and proactive approach to worker protections in the face of these challenges. It outlines how climate-related hazards, including extreme heat and poor air quality, are actively harming the physical and mental well-being of the Inland Empire's labor force. Drawing on existing research and publicly available data, this brief identifies the most vulnerable workers—including farmworkers, construction crews, and warehouse employees—and highlights the existing social and economic inequities that amplify the workplace risks to health and safety associated with extreme heat and air pollution.
Findings indicate an increased need for worker training and education, coupled with robust monitoring and enforcement mechanisms designed to protect workers’ health and safety. While some state regulations and local initiatives are in place along with a statewide Extreme Heat Action plan, greater policy coordination, enforcement, and other policy improvements are essential to fully address worker vulnerability from climate-related threats.
Key Findings
- The Inland Empire is already experiencing more extreme weather events than two decades ago, with projections for more extreme heat, wildfires, droughts, and flooding.
- Climate change introduces and exacerbates a wide range of physiological and mental health risks to workers, including heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and respiratory disease.
- Outdoor workers (e.g., agriculture, construction, transportation, and other industrial-related occupations) are generally more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change than those in indoor workplaces, although some indoor workers lack access to temperature control and clean air. Over 150,000 workers in the Inland Empire are in high-risk, climate-vulnerable occupations, compared to 1.5 million statewide; nearly 1 in 10 of the high-risk workers in California are from the Inland Empire. Across the state, these workers are disproportionately Black and Latino and earn lower wages than other occupations identified as low-risk from climate change impacts.
- Staff shortages at the California Division of Occupational Health and Safety (Cal/OSHA) are undermining the effectiveness of extreme heat and air quality mitigation policies. In response, some local jurisdictions have established strategic partnerships with worker centers, community-based organizations, and labor unions to train and educate at-risk workers.