Follow-Up: Contractor Loses License

Owner Maria De Colugna turned over her license after her company, Merced Farm Labor, was found responsible by the state of California for the death of 17-year-old Lodi farm laborer María Isavel Vásquez Jimenez. This sends a strong message to all farm labor contractors that a high level of protection for employees is required, especially during the hot summer months.
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In July, the state division of Occupational Safety & Health issued the contractor $262,700 in fines for heat illness violations. As of August 27, Merced Farm Labor has surrendered its operating license.

The contractor is prohibited from employing farm workers for three years, the longest sanction allowed under state law, according to the Department of Industrial Relations.

Owner Maria De Colugna turned over her license just three days before a hearing to revoke her license was to take place. State Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet initiated the license revocation in June, as a result of an investigation prompted by the death of Jimenez.

It was the largest amount assessed since the heat illness regulations came into law in 2006. The company has appealed the fines, said Dean Fryer, a spokesman for the Department of Industrial Relations.

Additionally, Merced Farm Labor likely will face criminal charges in San Joaquin County, according to Industrial Relations.

The state’s investigation into the company that followed Jimenez’s death concluded the company lied about not having outstanding safety citations in its license renewal application for 2007.

The company had been cited in 2006 for heat illness violations. Those fines remain unpaid, Fryer said.

The contractor also was ordered to cease operations in two separate occasions for failing to provide safe working conditions for farm employees this summer.

The first order was issued in June and the second in July, just eight days after the first order was lifted. Since the second stop work order, the company has not been allowed to operate.

“This sends a strong message to all farm labor contractors: If you falsify information on your application or fail to provide the required level of protection for employees, you can lose your license,” Bradstreet said in a news release Wednesday.

Source: Jennie Rodriguez, recordnet.com