California Governor vetoes farmworker heat safety bill after grantee reports that state cut back on enforcement; legislators plan renewed push for reform

CALEXICO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 08: In an aerial view, farm workers till a field on March 8, 2024 near the U.S-Mexico border in Calexico, California. The area is irrigated by the All-American Canal, which is drawn from the Colorado River and provides water to the fertile farms of Southern California's Imperial Valley. The border between the two nations stretches nearly 2,000 miles, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean and is marked by fences, deserts, mountains and a river that runs through most of it. The politics and controversies surrounding border and immigration issues have become a dominant theme in the U.S. presidential election campaign. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently vetoed a bill intended to protect farmworkers when employers violate state outdoor heat-safety law, Robert J. Lopez reported with support from the Fund. The report was published in Capital & Main. It followed an investigation by Lopez, also supported by the Fund, that detailed how California sharply cut back on enforcement of outdoor heat-protection laws as extreme temperatures have intensified in frequency and duration. State lawmakers have vowed to introduce bills to protect famworkers when the Legislature convenes next year. The reporting by Lopez is part of a larger ongoing investigation of California’s agricultural industry supported by the Fund.