As climate change accelerates, New Mexico is getting hotter. Our summers are longer, our highs are higher, and every year brings new records for extreme heat. This isn't a distant threat -- it's here, now. And for thousands of New Mexico's workers, especially those laboring outdoors or in non-air-conditioned workplaces, heat is not just uncomfortable. It's deadly.

That's why the New Mexico Environment Department's proposed Occupational Heat Illness and Injury Prevention Rule is so urgently needed. This standard would require employers to implement basic, life-saving protections -- access to water and shade, rest breaks, emergency response plans and training to recognize signs of heat illness. It's a commonsense step to prevent suffering, hospitalizations and fatalities. It also reflects the values we hold as New Mexicans: fairness, dignity and respect for the people whose labor sustains our economy.

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