 The second big thing, it gives workers some rights to water, shade, and breaks when it's hot. The water and shade requirements kick in above 80 degrees on the heat index. That's the feels-like temperature. Then when it gets to 90, workers would get paid rest breaks, and employers would have to make sure workers aren't getting sick from heat. Okay, seems pretty straightforward. Yeah, David Michaels is an epidemiologist at George Washington University and a former director of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, or OSHA. He puts it this way.