Gov. Orders Shade, Water for Workers Sickened by Heat
LA TimesTimes Staff Writers Standing with the family of a farmworker who died of heatstroke suffered in a Central Valley field, Gov. The regulations, expected to take effect in mid-August, would require access to shade for at least five minutes of “recovery time” if a worker feels symptoms of heatstroke, including headache, muscle cramps, vomiting and weakness. The regulations “should have been done many, many years ago,” said Schwarzenegger, whose wife, Maria Shriver, is the niece of Robert F. Kennedy, an iconic figure among California farmworkers after he embraced their cause in the 1960s. Assemblywoman Chu called the new regulations “a good first step” but also expressed concern that they don’t guarantee workers shade during all rest periods. “The positive thing about the regulations is that they say that when the worker feels they are facing a heatstroke,” Chu said, “they will be provided with a source of shade.”
History of this topic
Lawmakers take ‘creative’ approach to enforcing heat safety rules for California farmworkers
LA Times
California cuts back on safety enforcement as farmworkers toil in extreme heat
LA Times
Editorial: California workers shouldn’t have to face another broiling summer without indoor heat protections
LA Times
Editorial: California needs extreme heat rules to protect workers
LA Times
‘What choice do we have?’ US farm workers battle deadly heatwave
Al JazeeraDiscover Related