Cal-OSHA shuts down five more farm labor contractors

By Susan Ferriss

California labor officials said Thursday they have shut down five more farm labor contractors whose crews were found laboring in triple-digit heat with no shade, not enough water and no training in safety and emergency response.

The closures bring to eight the total number of employers shut down since last week because Cal-OSHA inspectors found them to be in violation of rules to prevent injury and death from heat exposure. Last week, occupational safety officials shut down three contractors, two in the San Joaquin Valley.

On Wednesday, inspectors found a crew of 15 workers laboring in 116-degree heat near the desert city of Thermal with less than a gallon of drinking water to share among them, said Erika Monterrosa, spokeswoman for Cal-OSHA. The workers were planting young date palm trees for Joel Salazar Farms of Escondido in San Diego County.

Since 2005, the state has required that outdoor employers provide at least one quart of fresh cool water per worker per hour and encourage employees to drink it. This year, officials began requiring outdoor employers to have shade available for workers whenever the temperature is supposed to rise above 85 degrees.

Labor officials say they are trying to prevent a repeat of last year's heat-related deaths -- at least six -- and scores of injuries. Cal-OSHA is taking the unusual step of immediately shutting down businesses until they show compliance with laws rather than issuing fines and allowing companies to remain open.

Also shut down this week was the Salvador Alvarado company, whose workers were picking corn in 106-degree heat with no shade, no training, no toilets, no water cups and no first-aid kit, Monterrosa said. Young's Nursery in Thermal, which sells citrus trees and plants, was also shut down for failure to provide shade for workers weeding and cutting branches in 111-degree heat. That company was allowed to reopen after correcting its violations, Monterrosa said.

Valley Pride of Coachella was closed for providing no shade for employees who were covering watermelons so they wouldn't burn in 108-degree heat, Monterrosa said. Galvan Brothers of Mecca was closed for providing no shade for workers planting date palms in 100-degree heat.

This week's sweep was conducted by the Economic and Employment Enforcement Coalition, which includes occupational safety and wage investigators who are supposed to crack down on California's "underground economy."