In a citrus grove in DeLeon Springs, Vincent Mills perches on a ladder, covered in sweat, tossing orange after orange into a large canvas sack.
Mills has worked at Lo-Salle Farms, a small, family-owned business just north of DeLand, for over 14 years. He spends each day working outside, no matter the weather. He said that although he enjoys the outdoor environment, it has its fair share of challenges.
“Sometimes it gets real hot – 90, 95 degrees – and you’re still out here working,” he said as sweat dripped from his forehead.
It is mid-February, but already, the temperature is peaking in the high 80s and the sun is beating down between the rows of trees as Mills drags a nearly 100-pound bag of oranges to a trailer.
“You can easily get dehydrated,” Mills said. “So, you've got to have a lot of water and just take in a lot of fluid.”
His employer, Steve Crump, works outside with him and his co-workers each day. Crump has been in farm work since he was young, running his business for nearly 30 years. So, Crump understands the dangers and challenges of working in the Florida heat.
Crump said his experience working in the heat is what led him to ensure he gives his workers protection from the sun, including access to ample shade, bottles of water in coolers, recurring breaks and restrooms close to the worksite.
“We all work together out here,” Crump said. “We just want to make sure everyone’s safe. That’s pretty much it. You look out for each other, it’s just common courtesy, and it’s the same as working anywhere else.”
Lack of regulation
But not every Floridian who works outdoors has an employer with this consideration, and work environments can easily turn from uncomfortable to unsafe. The majority of workers in the farming, construction, roofing, utilities and other industries are subject to workplaces void of protections, leading to heat-related incidents, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Just last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill (HB 433) that banned local governments from requiring employers to provide heat protections for workers.
One of the legislative sponsors of the bill was Republican state Sen. Jay Trumbull. He said the bill aimed to prevent different regulations from being put in place by local governments across the state.
“What this bill is saying is that we’re not going to allow individual communities to create a patchwork of regulations,” Trumbull said in last year’s legislative hearing. “There is going to be an overarching regulatory framework as it relates" to the federal Occupational Safety And Health Administration.
However, advocates like Dominique O’Connor of the Florida Association of Farmworkers said OSHA does not have enough resources to provide proper protections or education for outdoor workers in the state. Her organization is asking the Legislature to provide more concrete protections.
“What we’re asking for is shade, the right to take breaks; shade, water and a buddy system,” O’Connor said in an interview. “That should already be standard practice; it shouldn’t be something that’s too complicated for employers.”
But many industries are not providing any measures of protection, O’Connor said.
A new effort
State Rep. Michael Gottlieb, D- Davie, is trying to change that with a new bill (HB 35) this legislative session. The measure would implement statewide requirements for employers to protect employees from the heat, including requiring cold water to be available and giving a 10-minute cooldown for every two hours of work.
“There are industries that aren’t providing appropriate cover from the sun and aren’t providing accessible water,” Gottlieb said. “We just came off of the hottest summer that we’ve had in a long time. And yet, these entities are lobbying against it; they don’t want it. They see it as stopping production.”
But the Legislature has passed other heat protection bills, including a bill in 2020 that requires schools to improve access to water and breaks for student-athletes to reduce heat-related illnesses.
Gottlieb said those who work outdoors to make a living cling to the hope that similar protections will be granted to them. This is the third time he has filed a heat protection bill, but he said it has failed to even get a hearing for the past two legislative sessions due to pushback from other lawmakers and the lobbying of the agricultural and construction industries. Republicans hold a super majority in the Legislature and largely control its agenda.
“I don’t see why we have to wait for another tragedy for people to wake up and say, 'OK, we really should be doing this,' ” Gottlieb said. “We need, as a government entity, to take action to protect the citizens. Plain and simple.
Back at the farm in DeLeon Springs, Crump says that despite the “egregious” actions of bigger corporations and lobbyists, protecting his employees is a given.
“I don’t need a law to be a good person, and it’s really simple and not expensive,” Crump said. “It’s just one day of work, and it’s a lifetime of living, so you gotta make sure you protect the lifetime of living.”
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