Policy update in Calif. to prevent heat deaths (last summer over a dozen died working the fields)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_11942930

The Associated Press
Posted: 03/18/2009 03:05:44 PM PDT

EASTON, Calif.—California labor authorities are updating their enforcement policies for rules aimed at keeping farmworkers from dying of heat stress in the fields.

Len Welsh, chief of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health says whenever temperatures rise above 85 degrees, inspectors will enforce state rules aimed at preventing heat-stress illness.

Welsh says one-quarter of all workers on each shift have access to a shaded area when temperatures top 85 degrees. If more workers ask for shade, employers have to provide it, and keep drinking water nearby.

The division is holding workshops with thousands of growers and farm labor contractors. But farmworker advocates say the state needs to raise fines to rule breakers to be effective.