labor lawAdivision of labor law center

 A tragic case in California illustrates exactly why federal legislators recently passed stiffer penalties for employers who fail to provide safe working conditions for workers under the age of 18.

GINA, the recently passed Genetic Information Non-disclosure Act, provides for a $50,000 fine for any employer who is found in violation of a safety regulation, resulting in the death of a worker who is a minor.

Recently, the California Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Occupational Safety & Health (DIR/Cal/OSHA) issued six citations in the sad death of a 17-year-old female Hispanic farm worker. Even more tragically, this death could easily have been prevented if the employer had taken a few minutes to comply with a few simple safety rules.

Maria Vasquez Jimenez died of heat stroke in May 2008 after working a 9-hour shift in a Lodi vineyard with very little water and no shade. Coworkers say that she collapsed in the field and died two days later in the hospital, never regaining consciousness.

The employer, Merced Farm Labor Contractor, was fined $262,700. These are the largest fines assessed to an agricultural firm since California implemented tough heat illness prevention regulations in 2006.

Among the numerous violations, Merced representatives failed to report the potential heat illness and death to Cal/OSHA, as required by law.

“This company willfully violated the key provisions of the heat illness prevention regulations with tragic consequences,” said DIR Director John C. Duncan. “All California employers are required to provide a safe and healthful workplace and this company willfully failed to do so despite knowing the requirements contained in the heat illness regulations and continued to do so even after this terrible death.”

The three serious and willful citations issued with fines of $70,000 each included:

Failure to provide heat illness prevention training to employees and supervisors although the company was aware of the requirement to do so

Failure to provide prompt medical attention in case of serious injuries when working in remote locations

Failure to establish emergency procedures

In addition to the three serious, willful citations issued, two serious citations with fines of $22,500 each were issued for:

Failing to provide water in a readily accessible location and not permitting access to the water at all times

Failing to provide access to a shaded area for recovery periods of no less than five minutes.

Additional fines and citations were also issued to the company. Under California law, employers are required to have a written heat illness prevention program, train all employees and supervisors about the dangers of heat illness, provide adequate and accessible shade and enough cool, accessible water for each employee to drink at least four cups per hour.

California’s law is more specific than that in most states, but OSHA also requires similar measures when employees must work outdoors for long periods during hot weather.

According to sources at the DIR’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), Merced Farm Labor had been cited for similar violations in the past. In fact, the company did not take measures to correct the problem, even after the deadly accident. The company also illegally certified that all safety violations had been corrected in 2007, when renewing its business license. As a result, the Labor Commissioner scheduled a hearing to consider license revocation. Before the hearing, the company voluntarily surrendered its business license for 3 years, the maximum term.

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