Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill geared toward protecting farmworkers from extreme heat by retooling the state's staff' compensation system, arguing it was ineffective, while supporters called it a blow to the movement to supply farm staff protect those that work in extreme heat and develop into sick.
“It's disappointing,” said state Sen. Dave Cortese, who sponsored the bill, noting that he still hears from farm staff being injured and even dying by heat within the fields. “We thought because this is such a compelling issue, he would be the deciding factor in getting this done.”
The bill, SB 1299was intended to assist farmworkers obtain staff' compensation in the event that they were injured, became sick, or died because of a heat-related incident. If an employer had didn’t comply with heat safety laws, any heat-related injury could be considered work-related, although the employer could dispute this presumption.
Proponents of the bill hoped it will have had a preventive effect. In theory, employers who comply with heat laws would profit by avoiding staff' compensation claims, which may cost employers money by driving up insurance premiums, Cortese argued.
However, in a letter to the Senate, Newsom argued that other programs were already being established to guard farmworkers in extreme heat, noting that existing bill AB 1643 established committees to handle underreporting of warmth illnesses and methods to reduce them The effects of warmth concern staff, and the recently signed SB 1105 allows farmworkers to make use of emergency sick leave to avoid heat.
Bryan Little, director of employment policy for the California Farm Bureau, agreed with the governor's conclusion. “We’re glad the governor vetoed it,” Little said, arguing that labor representatives don’t have the expertise to implement heat-related issues. “It's about using the wrong tool for the job. Cal/OSHA is the right tool for the job and Cal/OSHA is stepping up to the plate.”
However, Cortese says these measures will not be enough to save lots of the lives of farmworkers, calling Cal/OSHA “currently a failed system.” Going forward, he says he’ll “double down on Cal/OSHA” to get more staff – The authority's emptiness rate in enforcement positions is 37% in keeping with current figures – and are in search of one other legislative solution that gives incentives to guard farm staff.
“They keep pushing,” Cortese said. “We will come back with something. I have to come back with something.”
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