Plain English Breakdown
The official status indicates the bill was vetoed, meaning it is not currently law unless an override occurred.
AB-1336: Heat Injury Benefits for Farmworkers
This vetoed bill proposed a temporary rule assuming heat injuries are work-related if outdoor farm employers break safety rules, and it planned to set aside money to handle these claims.
What This Bill Does
- Creates a temporary rule until January 1, 2031, stating that heat injuries in agriculture likely happened at work if the employer did not follow heat illness prevention standards.
- Requires the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board to decide for the employee unless the employer proves otherwise.
- States that compensation for these heat-related injuries includes medical treatment and disability payments.
- Prevents decisions made under this rule from being used in certain safety investigations or before the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board.
- Establishes a new fund called the Farmworker Climate Change Heat Injury and Death Fund with $5,000,000 for administrative costs.
Who It Names or Affects
- Farmworkers who suffer heat-related injuries while working outdoors in agriculture.
- Agriculture employers who must comply with heat illness prevention standards to avoid the presumption of liability.
- The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, which would handle these specific injury claims.
Terms To Know
- Disputable Presumption
- A rule that assumes something is true unless someone provides proof to show it is false. In this bill, the law assumes a heat injury happened at work if safety rules were broken.
- Workers' Compensation Appeals Board
- The state group with the power to make final decisions on workers' compensation cases before they can go to court.
Limits and Unknowns
- This bill was vetoed by the governor, so it did not become law unless lawmakers later overrode that decision.
- The text does not define the exact 'specified timeframe' for when a heat injury must develop after working outdoors.