Hundreds of thousands of delivery drivers, construction laborers, and other outdoor employees working on hot days in the New York City will receive expanded safety protections under a new directive aimed at combatting the escalating climate crisis.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed Executive Order No. 17 on Monday, establishing an agency framework to shield the city’s vulnerable workforce from the physical hazards of rising temperatures. Citing projections that NYC could witness more than four times as many annual heat waves by the 2050s compared to current rates, the administration is coordinating municipal resources to address heat-related illness and injury.
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More than 1.4 million workers, roughly a third of the city’s working population, spend prolonged periods working outdoors. For many gig workers, app-based delivery couriers, and day laborers, a shift under extreme heat involves more than physical discomfort. Lacking paid breaks or easy access to restrooms, many intentionally limit their water intake, putting themselves at risk for dehydration, liver failure, kidney disease, and urinary tract infections.
To address these immediate dangers, the order directs city enforcement agencies to strictly enforce laws that increase access to public bathrooms for outdoor workers. This includes penalizing restaurants that refuse to let food delivery workers use their restrooms under existing municipal codes. Additionally, city messaging to workers will produce the locations of public restrooms, cooling centers, parks department cooling zones, water features, drinking fountains, and shaded spaces.
The policy also targets the city’s construction sector. The Department of Buildings will review current safety and training requirements alongside worker organizations to determine if existing rules sufficiently protect against heat illness. During periods of high heat, the agency will also remind contractors and property owners of their legal obligation to report any site incident where a worker requires emergency medical transport or immediate hospital care.
Beyond immediate field protections, the order introduces measures to monitor the economic and systemic toll of extreme temperatures. Noting scientific evidence that worker productivity drops by 2% for every one degree Celsius temperature increase above comfort ranges, the city will review state workers’ compensation claims filed by municipal employees to understand weather-related injury patterns.
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Furthermore, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will study whether to make heat-related illnesses a officially reportable public health condition. The study will consider whether requiring healthcare professionals to report these cases, including the patient’s place of employment and the identity of their employer, would help the city address workplace heat stress.
While Emergency Management prepares to broadcast real-time prevention guidance to employers during heat emergencies, mayoral agencies must also implement comprehensive heat safety plans for their own indoor and outdoor staff.