Agricultural employee safety.

Existing law permits the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board within the Department of Industrial Relations to adopt occupational health and safety standards to protect the welfare of employees, and existing regulations provide for the prevention of heat-related illness of employees, as prescribed. Under existing law, it is a misdemeanor for an employer to violate a safety standard if the violation has a substantial probability of resulting in death or serious physical harm. This bill would make it a crime for any person who directs an agricultural employee to perform, or supervises an agricultural employee in the performance of, outdoor work without providing the employee with shade and potable water, punishable by imprisonment not exceeding 6 months in a county jail, by a fine not exceeding $10,000, or by both the imprisonment and fine, or if that violation results in injury to an agricultural employee, by imprisonment not exceeding one year in a county jail, by a fine not exceeding $25,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.