Criminal charges in farm worker heat death

STOCKTON
April 24, 2009 12:03am

The San Joaquin County District Attorney has filed involuntary manslaughter charges and California Labor Code violations in the May 2008 death of 17-year-old farmworker Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez.

The case brought against Merced Farm Labor followed an investigation by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Those charged in the death are Maria De Los Angeles Colunga, former owner of the company; Elias Armenta, its former safety director, and Raul Martinez, a former supervisor.

"We applaud the district attorney's decision to prosecute this as the crime it was. We wish that it had never happened. We hope it will cause other district attorneys to look at the other number of cases where farm workers have been killed the same way,” says Arturo Rodriguez, president of the United Farm Workers union.

“Employers and labor contractors be forewarned – comply with the heat illness prevention standards put into law in 2005 or be prosecuted to the absolute fullest extent of the law,” says Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, following announcement Thursday of the criminal charges.

On July 2008, Cal/OSHA issued six citations, and assessed fines of $262,700 against Merced Farm Labor Contractor. The fines are the largest assessed to an agricultural firm in Cal/OSHA’s history.

In addition, Cal/OSHA issued a stop work order prohibiting the employer from using any employee labor after investigators found workers were continuing to be exposed to the same workplace hazards that led to the death of Ms. Jimenez.

On June 4, 2008, the California Labor Commissioner moved to revoke Merced Farm Labor’s license for providing false information. Merced Farm Labor Contractor surrendered its license soon thereafter.