Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill to make it easier for farmworkers to file workers’ compensation claims for heat illness.
SB 1299 would have changed the burden of proof in workers’ compensation claims when a farmworker develops a heat-related injury after working outdoors for an employer that fails to meet safety standards thermal energy of the State. Instead of the farm worker having to prove that the injury occurred on the job, as is typically the case in workers’ compensation cases, it would have been the responsibility of the employer to prove that the illness did not was not work related.
Under the bill’s provisions, if an employer failed to follow the rules, any heat injury to an employee would be “presumed to arise out of and in the course of employment.” This would have created a “rebuttable presumption,” more commonly used for law enforcement officers and firefighters who develop certain injuries that may arise from the risks inherent in their jobs.
In a veto message released Saturday, Newsom said there is “no doubt” that California farmworkers need strong protections against the risk of heat-related illnesses, especially as climate change drives a increasing extreme temperatures.
“However, creating a presumption of heat illness in the workers’ compensation system is not an effective means of achieving this goal,” he said. Newsom said thermal safety rules are currently enforced by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA, which is better equipped to enforce these worker protections.
Newsom also noted that Cal/OSHA is creating an agricultural unit specializing in worker protection and hazards encountered on agricultural work sites, and opening new district offices in Fresno, Santa Barbara and Riverside.
“This dedicated unit will increase Cal/OSHA’s reach to farmworker communities throughout the Central Valley, where the greatest number of farmworkers and their families reside,” Newsom said.
The legislation came as many farmworkers continue to work in unsafe conditions and Cal/OSHA faces a severe staffing shortage. hindering his ability to enforce thermal regulations for outdoor workers.
First adopted in 2005, the state’s heat illness prevention rules require employers to provide outdoor workers with cool water, access to shade at 80 degrees and above, and refreshment breaks whenever a worker requests them. Employers must also maintain a heat illness prevention plan with effective training for supervisors to recognize the signs and symptoms of heat illness.
But nearly two decades after the rules were adopted, ensuring compliance remains difficult.
In 2009 and 2012, the United Farm Workers union sued Cal/OSHA, accusing the agency of failing to enforce the regulations.
A 2022 study by the UC Merced Community and Labor Center found that many farmworkers were still working without protection. Of more than 1,200 workers surveyed, 43% said their employer had not provided a heat-related illness prevention plan and 15% said they had not received illness prevention training related to heat.
The bill’s author, Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose), previously described SB 1299 as a “creative workaround” of “taking the tools that we have and trying to concoct an approach that , will hopefully spur greater compliance.”
“Employers hate workers’ compensation presumptions so much that I feel like this might actually work,” Cortese told the Times. “The avoidance factor is so high for them that they’ll say, ‘My God, it’s actually easier for us to provide shade and water than to have to deal with an overgrowth of expedited workers’ compensation claims.'”
“We’re trying to take something that they see as kind of a thorn in their side and use it as a deterrent for the type of behavior that we’re seeing,” he said.
The UFW supported SB 1299.
“Despite the governor’s veto of SB 1299, the UFW will continue to work to save the lives of farmworkers,” UFW President Teresa Romero said in a statement Saturday.
Opponents of the bill, including the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Farm Bureau, recognized the importance of protecting agricultural workers from heat illness, but argued that the problem should not be solved by the workers’ compensation system.
This article is part of The Times equity reporting initiative, financed by the James Irvine Foundationexploring the challenges faced by low-income workers and efforts to address them. California’s economic divide.
