Occupational Safety and Health Administration Logs

Are there any OSHA regulations regarding indoor office temperatures?

My wife works in an office and the heat and A/C are always broken. One week her office is 90 degrees and the next it's 50 degrees. She can't get anyone to fix it. What can she do?

Public Comments

1. As a general rule, office temperature and humidity are matters of human comfort. OSHA has no regulations specifically addressing temperature and humidity in an office setting. However, Section III, Chapter 2, Subsection V of the OSHA Technical Manual, "Recommendations for the Employer," provides engineering and administrative guidance to prevent or alleviate indoor air quality problems. Air treatment is defined under the engineering recommendations as, "the removal of air contaminants and/or the control of room temperature and humidity." OSHA recommends temperature control in the range of 68-76° F and humidity control in the range of 20%-60%.
2. You may want to check out the OSHA website at: http://www.osha.gov I also found the website below that has some rules on temperature at the OSHA site.
3. That is a common problem in many office buildings, the heat and air are run by one unit and have to generate heat and air for all the different offices . So tell her to take a space heater and fan in to work :)
4. Heat & A/C is a matter of human comfort so OSHA has no regulations for it. There isn't much she can do except to report it to the appropriate party in writing and then make sure they do their job. One answerer suggested taking a fan and a space heater. The fan is ok. The space heater is not. Most office buildings will not permit their use because it violates code and also because the circuit will overload if too many of them are in use. If she wants to use a space heater she needs to check with building regulations to see whether or not they are permitted.