Walters: California businesses, lawmakers turn up heat in battle over workplace temperatures

"Assembly Bill 1336, now awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom's signature or veto, is the latest skirmish in a decades-long conflict over protecting workers from heat effects on their health, whether they work outdoors or inside. The measure, if approved, would create a new legal presumption - that workers suffering from heat illness or injury would be entitled to workers' compensation benefits if their employers failed to comply with standards set up to protect employees from heat effects."

"Newsom's signature on the bill is not a foregone conclusion. Last year, he vetoed an almost identical measure, Senate Bill 1299, saying, "There is no doubt that climate change is causing an increase in extreme temperatures and that California farmworkers need strong protections from the risk of heat-related illness. However, the creation of a heat-illness presumption in the workers' compensation system is not an effective way to accomplish this goal.""

"Twenty years ago, California saw a spate of heat-related deaths among farmworkers, leading former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration to adopt rules requiring employers to provide clean drinking water, adequate shade and paid breaks for outdoor workers during periods of high heat. However the United Farmworkers Union has contended that staff shortages and lackadaisical management prevent the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health, better known as Cal/OSHA, from effectively enforcing those rules, leading to workers' debilitating conditions and even death."

AB 1336 would create a legal presumption that workers who suffer heat illness or injury are entitled to workers' compensation when employers fail to meet heat-protection standards. Extreme inland California temperatures produce life-and-death risks for outdoor and indoor workers. Gov. Newsom vetoed a nearly identical bill last year, saying a compensation presumption is not an effective solution. California adopted rules two decades ago requiring water, shade and paid breaks after a spate of farmworker deaths. The United Farmworkers Union contends Cal/OSHA lacks staff and rigor to enforce those protections, contributing to ongoing heat-related harm, and a state auditor has documented agency shortcomings.

Read at The Mercury News