California governor vetoes heat injury presumption bill

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday announced he has vetoed a bill that would have created a heat illness and injury presumption for farmworkers.

S.B. 1299 would have created the rebuttable presumption that a heat-related injury arose out of employment when the employer failed to comply with heat standards promulgated by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Mr. Newsom wrote in his veto statement that Cal/OSHA should enforce heat safety rules and that the matter should not be judicated by the workers compensation system.

“Current laws establishing, regulating, and enforcing heat illness prevention standards fall under the jurisdiction of Cal/OSHA, not the Division of Workers’ Compensation, and the workers compensation system is not equipped to make determinations about employers’ compliance with Cal/OSHA standards.”