Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez

Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez (born 1990s, died May 16, 2008) was a farmworker whose death from heat illness while working in a vineyard near Stockton, California sparked policy changes in California and the United States.[1]

Vasquez was working in a vineyard on May 14, 2008 when the heat was above 95 degrees. Vasquez collapsed from heat exhaustion. By the time she reached the hospital, her body temperature was 108 degrees. She died two days later. She was two months pregnant. She was 17 years old.[1]

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger attended her funeral.[1]

Following her death and other similar cases, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) strengthened its rules on heat twice (in 2010 and 2015) and launched an educational campaign.[2] One of the regulations begins with "This section shall be known and may be cited as the Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez heat illness standard."[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Teen Farmworker's Heat Death Sparks Outcry". All Things Considered. National Public Radio. June 6, 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  2. ↑ De La Cruz, Maricela (August 23, 2022). "How farm workers' rights have strengthened since the 2008 death of pregnant 17-year-old María Isavel Vásquez Jiménez". KCRA. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "Section 3395 Heat Illness Prevention in Outdoor Places of Employment". California Department of Industrial Relations. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
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