As Jack in the Box workers rally in California, a consultant offers operators strategies As parts of the nation experienced blistering temperatures, including a record high 116 degrees Monday in Portland, Ore., restaurant operators faced increased issues in providing employees with a safe work environment. About 12 million U.S. residents in the West on Tuesday were under heat watches and warnings, and another 44 million were under heat alerts across the Northeast, stretching from Maine to Delaware. In Sacramento, Calif., Jack in the Box workers held a rally and car caravan Tuesday to demand their managers take steps to guarantee a safe and healthy workplace, including the repair of a faulty air conditioning unit that had broken during previous heat waves.