California Labor Law: Heat Stress Regulation Designed to Prevent Death

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/10840/employees-labor-law-violations-heat-stroke-death.html

June 29, 2008. By Heidi Turner

Santa Clara, CA: Although many employees consider labor law violations stressful, they do not consider that some violations put people's lives at risk. However, a lawsuit filed recently in California argues that a company's failure to obey the law cost a young, pregnant woman her life. California has enacted a heat stress regulation designed to prevent exactly this situation.



The wrongful death lawsuit was filed by the family of the 17 year old girl who died in May. According to KSEE News, the victim had worked in a vineyard for more than nine hours that day and did not have access to shade or sufficient water breaks. A lack of access to sufficient water breaks and to shade violates California labor law.

The company that the victim worked for was shut down by officials after they learned that company continued violating heat stress prevention rules following the victim's death. The same company was fined in 2006 because of a failure to have a written heat stress prevention plan.

California adopted a heat stress regulation, the first state to do so, after 13 people died heat-related deaths in 2005. Under the regulation, employers are required to:

* Develop and implement written procedures on heat illness prevention;
* Provide heat illness training to all employees;
* Make readily available and encourage each employee to drink four eight-ounce cups of fresh water per hour; and
* Provide immediate access to shade or any cool area out of the sun for recovery periods for at least five minutes at a time.

FULL story at link.

yes both these things are wrong but in Arizona its legal for Sheriff Arapio to submit inmates to cruel and unsual punishment. I feel so sorry for her :-(