The new year will bring relief to California farmworkers impacted by warming global temperatures after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill allowing them to use sick time when environmental conditions are too dangerous for them to work.
In September, the office of Sen. Steve Padilla announced that Gov. Newsom approved Senate Bill 1105, which will go into effect on Jan. 1. The legislation first introduced by Padilla aims to protect agricultural workers who are disproportionately impacted by extreme weather, which has grown more frequent and intense because of rising global temperatures.
Heat is already the top weather-related killer in the United States, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration noting it caused more deaths over the past 10 years than floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes combined.
However, as the release explains, farmworkers are particularly vulnerable to these scorching conditions, being "35 times more likely to die from heat-related stress than workers in any other industry" in the country, according to a study by the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.
Furthermore, heatwave-worsened wildfires can create hazardous conditions for agricultural workers, whose outside activities mean they cannot escape the blazes' toxic fumes indoors, where HEPA filters can improve air quality to provide relief.
Thanks to SB 1105, it will now be illegal for employers to deny sick days to agricultural workers when the state government or local municipality has declared a weather-related emergency, protecting the health and livelihoods of nearly 50% of all farmworkers nationwide — and in turn a supply system that ensures food makes its way to stores for families worldwide.
According to La Cooperativa Campesina de California, one-third of the vegetables and almost two-thirds of fruits and nuts in the U.S. come from the Golden State.
"California farmworkers put their bodies through incredible stress every day to feed families across the globe," Sen. Padilla, who represents the 18th District, said in a statement published by his office. "This law is critical as we adapt our policies to the impacts of climate change. Giving these workers the freedom and peace of mind to use their hard-earned sick days to protect their health further adds to California's landmark labor protections."
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