On May 22, at its Board of Directors meeting, Bruce Stidworthy, GACC Local Government Affairs chair, introduced the board to the Heat Illness and Injury Prevention proposal from the NM Environmental Improvement Board.
Stidworthy said, as drafted, the proposal could have significant unintended consequences, hindering New Mexico’s ability to address urgent economic needs, especially in housing, infrastructure and job creation.
The proposed rule hurts business, because as currently drafted, it would create unworkable compliance for all active job sites, economic harm across multiple sectors, and increased costs and decreased productivity for everyone, he said.
Stidworthy introduced Kelly Roepke-Orth, president and CEO for Associated General Contractors who discussed the proposal and why the Chamber should oppose it.
Roepke-Orth said the key concerns of the proposal, as written, are:
Mandatory Rest Breaks at 90’F for Construction Workers:
- Construction is classified as “heavy labor.” With New Mexico’s regular summer temperatures exceeding 90’’F–and the rule’s required 13-degree adjustment for solar exposure, most job sites will routinely exceed the I03 degree threshold. This would trigger a 40-minute paid rest break every 20 minutes of work, a schedule that is logistically unworkable
Operational Impacts
- Critical work like concrete pours and utility tie-ins requires continuous, coordinated labor. Imposing prolonged and frequent rest breaks undermines jobsite productivity, and, ironically, increases safety risks by disrupting planned workers available.
Labor Force Shortages
- The construction workforce in New Mexico remains approximately 11% below its 2006 peak. Contractors cannot rotate additional crews to compensate for forced downtime because there simply aren’t enough workers available.
Mental Health and Workforce Wellbeing
- Construction already faces a national mental health crisis. Our industry’s suicide rate is over 3.5 times the national average, and it surpasses the rate of all other OSHA-covered fatalities combined. The U.S. Department of Labor and OSHA themselves warn that irregular shifts, extended work hours, and fatigue disrupt the circadian rhythm and significantly increase mental health risks.
- By effectively forcing early morning or nighttime shifts to avoid temperature thresholds this rule would intensify mental health stressors, diminish sleep quality and create more risk.
Financial Burdens
- The combined cost of downtime, schedule delays, and compliance infrastructure will significantly increase the cost of construction for both public and private sector projects’ These cost burdens will ultimately be passed down to taxpayers and project owners.
One-Size-Fits-All Rule is Not Practical
- This rule attempts to apply uniform standards across vastly different industries and work environments. Such a rigid approach disregards practical, proven heat safety measures already implemented on New Mexico job sites. Responsible contractors should not be penalized for maintaining effective jobsite-specific safety protocols.
Roepke-Orth said rather than imposing a rigid and unrealistic mandate, AGC NM recommends a revised framework that reflects field-tested, achievable safety practices.
Bruce Stidworthy made a motion to oppose the proposed regulation and notify the EIB of the Chamber’s opposition.
On May 23, the GACC sent the following letter of opposition:
The EIB is slated to hear the proposal regulation changes during its upcoming July meeting.
In the letter, Chamber Chairman Del Esparza, CEO of Esparza, Digital + Advertising, and Chamber President and CEO Terri Cole submitted the following testimony in opposition:
Dear Environmental Improvement Board Commissioners,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Proposed Regulations for Heat Illness and Injury Prevention Regulations that you will consider at your July 2025 meeting.
The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce opposes the regulations as written for the following reasons:
- It is unnecessary as employees are already protected from heat-related hazards via OSHA’s General Duty Clause.
- It will negatively affect virtually every economic sector and industry in our state, from construction, agriculture and oil and gas to bakeries and laundromats, delivering serious roadblocks to our state’s urgent need for good jobs, housing and infrastructure while raising prices exponentially.
- There are reasonable, common-sense provisions to ensure workplace safety that can be implemented, from hydration and shade stations to safety briefings and trainings, many of which are currently in practice by most businesses.
- We all know that New Mexico struggles to be competitive with other states, so we shouldn’t make the problem worse. Setting extreme, arbitrary, one-size-fits-all break requirements of 40 to 45 minutes of every hour simply makes everything from pouring concrete to baking a wedding cake impossible – or impossibly expensive. Mandating irregular shifts and extended hours to avoid temperature thresholds in fact negatively affects the mental health, childcare and family responsibilities of the workforce this regulation is trying to protect.
While no doubt well intended, NMAC 11.5.7 will in actuality hurt businesses, consumers and employees. A closer look reveals it violates an immutable law: the law of unintended consequences. We ask you to vote “no” on this regulation as written.
Thank you,
Del Esparza
Chairman of the Board
Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce
Terri Cole
President and CEO
Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce