Ronald Silver II received no training about extreme temperatures and heat illnesses before he died working for the city, according to a review of the Baltimore Department of Public Works by a law firm.

The review, commissioned by the city after Silver’s death on an August day when the heat index broke 100 and released Thursday, outlines how a lack of communication and protocols for extreme heat throughout the department puts workers at risk.

“Several solid waste supervisors and employees allege that during high-temperature days, the city gives a heat warning to residents, instructing them to bring their pets indoors because of dangerous heat conditions, and allegedly the city allows some city employees to leave work early,” the report says. “Meanwhile, solid waste drivers and laborers have historically been required to complete their routes on such days.”

Silver died of hyperthermia, according to an external autopsy report by Maryland’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. He was on the clock as a sanitation worker when he collapsed on a porch on a day in early August that had a heat index of 103. The heat index is what the temperature feels like when relative humidity is taken into account. City and union leaders, backed by the fiancee and five children Silver left behind, have called for an investigation into his death, as well as new safeguards for workers.

The report was compiled by Conn Maciel Carey, a national labor law firm with a record of opposing tough regulations, including those on a heat-related injuries.

“The city wasted money on lawyers who fight worker safety and rights,” said Dorothy Bryant, president of AFSCME Local 44, which represents over 2,000 city employees, including DPW workers, in a statement. “I can only imagine what a report from credible health and safety experts would have found.”

But the firm’s report “validates what we have said since the death of brother Silver, the city doesn’t have basic heat and emergency protocols,” said Patrick Moran, president of AFSCME Maryland Council 3, which represents thousands of city employees in multiple departments, including DPW, in the statement.

The law firm said it interviewed 35 of the department’s employees and alleges in the report that supervisors do not enforce cooldown rest breaks and create incentives for workers to move as quickly as possible because they can finish work early and still be paid for an entire shift. While the department does have an emergency phone line, investigators found most employees and supervisors were unaware of it.

The report also says the department owns vehicles that do not have functioning air conditioning, and that employees have no means to charge their radio communication devices in their trucks.

“This has resulted in DPW drivers failing to report safety or operational issues on their vehicles out of concern they would be assigned a vehicle without air conditioning or other essential functions while their primary vehicle is being serviced,” the report reads.

In July, a report from the city’s inspector general said DPW facilities and trucks had broken air conditioning and did not provide enough water, ice and fans to workers. The inspector general investigation into the department is ongoing, and Maryland Occupational Safety and Health is investigating Silver’s death.

The report is intended to supplement those investigations, the law firm said. The city has submitted a draft heat illness prevention program to the city and state.

The Maryland Department of Labor adopted new regulations in September that require employers to implement procedures when the heat indexes reach or exceed 90 degrees, including a work and rest schedule. The rules require a minimum rest period of 10 minutes for every two hours worked where employees are exposed to a heat index above 90 and below 100 degrees. A minimum rest period of 15 minutes for every hour worked is required when the heat index is above 100 degrees. The rule also requires rest periods to be in the shade.

The report notes that in August, only five states — California, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and Colorado — had heat standards for workers.

The law firm suggests the city go further than state requirements and implement a stop-work trigger on days when the heat index reaches 105. The index reached 103 the day Silver died. Later in August, the city did pause trash and recycling collection on a day when the heat index hit 106.

The report also recommends more training and new emergency response protocols.

The recommendations track with “clear demands” made by local unions just days after Silver’s death, Moran said.

“At what point is the city going to actually listen to its frontline workers? We need leadership and we need resolution with us, across agencies, now,” he said.

Bryant said, “We told the city what to do and what to change and they still haven’t done it.”

“We are committed to protecting our frontline workers,” DPW director Khalil Zaied said in a Thursday release. “The department has conducted a line-by-line review of the firm’s findings and is taking immediate corrective actions where feasible. Additionally, we have drafted new standard operating procedures for heat-related safety and are evaluating and improving our processes, protocols, and working conditions. These changes represent the first step toward improving our workplace safety culture.”

Baltimore Sun reporters Hannah Gaskill and Dan Belson contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact Dillon Mullan at dmullan@baltsun.com, 302-842-3818 or @DillonMullan on X.