As extreme heat rises, Newsom blocks bill to protect California farmworkers
calmatters.org
Gov. Newsom blocks legislation to make it easier for California farmworkers to file workers’ comp claims for heat illness.
  • just_another_person@lemmy.world
    9·
    1 month ago

    “In his veto message, Newsom wrote the enforcement of heat safety rules should be done only by the state’s workplace safety agency, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) and not be determined by the workers’ compensation system.”

    • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
      12·
      1 month ago

      So the company pays a “fee” for working people possibly to death and the workers get to spend more recovery time undoubtedly filling out lots of paperwork and making a dozen calls? Bold move Cotton.

      • just_another_person@lemmy.world
        161·
        1 month ago

        No, he’s saying the law has issues, and was unnecessary because Cal/OSHA already does this. The biggest issue with the language in this bill is that it removes the regulators from the loop to enforce issues, and puts the honus on the employer, which creates a problem. Basically, the if a worker makes a claim, then the employer would have to prove it wasn’t their fault, and not OSHA as it is now. It creates a loophole that will certainly be abused on all sides.

        This article actually goes into it more: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-09-28/gavin-newsom-vetoes-bill-intended-to-enforce-heat-safety-rules-for-california-farmworkers

        • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
          21·
          1 month ago

          The article seems to have more points in favor of the vetoed bill than against it. It didn’t say OSHA would have a diminished role in the process but it did say thus far OSHA has been lacking in it’s duties. The biggest opponents to the bill have been business interests so it seems like this would’ve been a net benefit to workers.

          • just_another_person@lemmy.world
            3·
            1 month ago

            It didn’t say any of that. You’re reading into what you want to read into it. I follow this closely.

            Cal/OSHA hasn’t been lacking in it’s duties (no idea where you even got that from), in fact, they just pushed for immediate changes in the regulations earlier this year. Here’s more specifics if you want to read what it covers.

            The biggest opponents to the bill weren’t just businesses, but you can read their take here. Plenty of others were opposed, including local politicians, and legal scholars. I think what you’re reading into is “if business is against it…BAD.” Which isn’t always the case. As you can read elsewhere, the loopholes created here are massive, and creates a presumption of guilt pretty immediately without requiring any verification from OSHA, should a complaint be made. That’s how they are removed from the loop.

            If this had passed, it would have been defeated in court, causing way more money waste than than actually fixing the problem, which the bill doesn’t. It just makes it easier for people to get compensation claims with zero evidence, and it would have been abused by claimants and businesses alike.

            • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
              11·
              1 month ago

              I mean I want to read the truth so I’m sorry I took the article, which someone else shared, at face value:

              The legislation came as many farmworkers continue to labor in unsafe conditions and Cal/OSHA confronts a severe staffing shortage that is hampering its ability to enforce heat regulations for outdoor workers.

              But nearly two decades after the rules were first enacted, ensuring compliance has remained challenging.

              A 2022 study by the UC Merced Community and Labor Center found that many farmworkers were still laboring without the protections. Of more than 1,200 workers surveyed, 43% reported that their employers had not provided a heat illness prevention plan and 15% said they had not received heat illness prevention training.

  • WoahWoah@lemmy.world
    6·
    1 month ago

    I’ve always found Newsom creepy and slimy, but what is up with him over the last six months? I don’t live in California so I just generally try to ignore that he exists.

      • WoahWoah@lemmy.world
        1·
        1 month ago

        Seems the opposite. He clearly wants the presidency, and he was hoping for 2028, but then Biden dropped out, and he was hoping for 2024, and then Harris took it. Now, if she wins, she’ll almost assuredly run for reelection.

        That means all the sudden he’s looking at 2032, at best, and I think that pissed him off and made him stop caring about looking like a good democratic candidate and get onto torturing some homeless people and all the other shit he’s been up to.

        He’s obsessed with his self image, and the idea that he’d be approaching 70 before he even has a chance to run for president does not fit with his slick, disgusting persona. Let’s not forget he was married to Kimberly Guilfoyle. Like, he actually chose to get married and lived as a married man, of his own volition, with Kimberly Guilfoyle. That alone is a huge red flag. And then she divorced him for cheating.

        They thought they were “the next Kennedys.” I mean the guy is just an absolute Muppet. I look forward to him fading into the dark, the last visible spectre being his overwhitened teeth like the Cheshire cat.

  • stoly@lemmy.world
    2·
    1 month ago

    He went from being the mayor who broke the dam that held back marriage equality to this. He’s got something planned and is definitely looking to court the center vote.