Three Charged In Death of Heat-Stressed Farmworker

Three people were recently charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death last year of pregnant 17-year-old field worker Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez, who died of heat stroke two days after collapsing in a vineyard near Lodi, CA. According to the Stockton Record, that day, May 14, 2008, California’s occupational safety agency had issued a heat-danger warning to employers. Her death spurred Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to order more aggressive enforcement of a worker-safety program.

District Attorney James P. Willett filed the charges against the former operators of Merced Farm Labor, which has since been shut down by the state. Jimenez, who was two months pregnant, collapsed in a vineyard under the contractor’s supervision when temperatures peaked at 95°F. Adequate water and shade were not provided to the workers, a state investigation concluded.

The men charged are Maria De Los Angeles Colunga, the owner of the labor company, Elias Armenta, a former safety director, and Raul Martinez, a former supervisor. They face one felony and five misdemeanor charges for failing to provide Jimenez with reasonable access to potable water, shade, heat illness training, and prompt medical attention, according to the complaint. If convicted, each faces a prison sentence of two to six years.

Doroteo Jimenez, the teen’s uncle, told the newspaper he was surprised by the county’s action. “In reality, I thought they weren’t taking it seriously. This is something that gives us a little hope,” he said. “At least, justice is being served.”

The county also filed a civil enforcement action saying De Los Angeles Colunga and the owner of the farm where Jimenez fell ill, West Coast Grape Farming Inc., violated state labor laws by not implementing state-mandated practices on heat illness prevention. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties of at least $500,000 for Merced Farm Labor, De Los Angeles Colunga, and West Coast Grape Farming.

Schwarzenegger issued a statement after the county’s filing: “I fought to adopt the strongest and first heat regulations in the nation because worker safety from heat illness must and will be protected in California, and I applaud the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office for their actions today. 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. Every single worker in California is valued and must and will be treated that way in the workplace.”