Act Daily News
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Two California state businesses are investigating whether or not there have been potential labor and office security and well being violations on the two Half Moon Bay, California, farms the place seven individuals have been fatally shot final month.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health and the state’s Labor Commissioner’s Office “want to ensure that employees are being afforded all the protections of California labor laws,” a state official informed Act Daily News in an emailed assertion.
The assertion didn’t supply additional particulars in regards to the probe, saying neither company feedback on ongoing investigations.
The suspect labored on one of many mushroom farms the place he’s suspected of fatally capturing 4 of his coworkers. The web site, owned by California Terra Garden, is a mushroom farm the place the suspected gunman labored and lived on for at the very least seven years, in keeping with officers and a spokesperson for that firm. A California Terra Garden spokesperson has stated there have been a number of cell properties and trailers for workers on the property.
The suspect was additionally a former worker of one other close by farm the place he’s accused of killing three former colleagues, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus beforehand stated.
In a news convention the day after the bloodbath, California Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted the residing situations the farm staff confronted.
“Some of you should see where these folks are living, the conditions they’re in. Living in shipping containers,” the governor stated. “Folks getting nine bucks an hour … no healthcare, no support, no services, but taking care of our health, providing a service to each and every one of us every single day.”
And in an announcement a number of days later, the governor’s workplace referred to as the employees’ residing situations “deplorable.”
“California is investigating the farms involved in the Half Moon Bay shooting to ensure workers are treated fairly and with the compassion they deserve,” in keeping with a January 26 assertion posted on Twitter by Daniel Villaseñor, the governor’s deputy press secretary.
At the time, a California Terra Garden spokesperson responded to the accusations, saying the governor’s feedback didn’t mirror the residing situations of farm staff.
“The salary of all employees range from $16.50 to $24,” the spokesperson stated, including that staff obtain “vacation days, company-sponsored health insurance, life/disability insurance, workman’s compensation insurance, and access to a 401(k) plan.” Act Daily News has reached out to California Terra Garden for additional particulars on how its workers are paid and for touch upon the state businesses’ investigations.
The spokesperson stated final month that the eight households who lived on the property lived in “mobile homes and large recreational vehicles” outfitted with kitchens, loos, showers and “standard living amenities.”
“No one lives in anything like shipping containers or tents as was erroneously reported. The families pay approximately $300 a month to rent these living spaces, well below market rate,” the corporate spokesperson stated.
Source: www.cnn.com