Man's death in South Florida heat prompts federal investigation into company that employed him

BELLE GLADE — A South Florida company is fighting federal regulators' proposed punishment over the death of an employee who suffered a heatstroke on his first day on the job.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 26-year-old Salvadore Garcia Espita came to Belle Glade from Mexico on a temporary work visa in mid-September. Investigators said Espita began to feel ill and collapsed while planting sugarcane in 97-degree heat in a Loxahatchee field. He died in a local hospital three days later.

His death prompted a six-month federal investigation into McNeill Labor Management, the company which contracted Espita and is run by Wellington residents Christa and James McNeill. Investigators concluded this month that the company could have prevented Espita's fatal heatstroke had it provided proper heat protection.

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The Labor Department also cited McNeill Labor Management for not reporting Espita's hospitalization and death to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA. The agency proposed that McNeill Labor Management pay a fine of $27,655 and adopt a heat-illness prevention program to keep others from suffering the same fate.

“This young man’s life ended on his first day on the job because his employer did not fulfill its duty to protect employees from heat exposure, a known and increasingly dangerous hazard,” said OSHA Area Director Condell Eastmond in Fort Lauderdale.

OSHA issued its citation one day after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation that bans local governments from requiring heat protections for outdoor workers. The law goes into effect on July 1, as summer temperatures reach their peak.

Company disputes OSHA's findings, launches its own investigation

McNeill Management Labor has contested OSHA’s findings and proposed penalty, sending the case to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission for an independent review. After hearing testimony, an administrative law judge can either affirm or reject the proposed citations and penalties.

When reached for comment Tuesday, vice-president James McNeill said the company is in the preliminary stages of conducting its own investigation into Espita's death. He declined to comment on the citations in the meantime.

His company's website features photos of men in wide-brimmed hats and long-sleeved shirts, each accompanied by the same caption: "Planting cane is a labor-intensive process where only the hardest working and best farm labor contractors can perform."

Almost exactly two years before Espita's death, another unnamed laborer died of heatstroke while planting sugarcane an hour's drive west in Clewiston. At least 10 more in Florida have died of heatstroke between 2017 and 2023, according to OSHA's online database of workplace fatalities.

The Labor Department recommended McNeill Labor Management provide frequent breaks in shaded areas for its employees and train them to recognize symptoms of heat-related illness. It also recommended that the company make a plan to connect heat-stricken laborers with first responders faster.

The field where Espita worked is about an hour west of West Palm Beach, 20 minutes from the closest road and 22 miles from the hospital where he died.

Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Feds say Florida company could have prevented employee's heatstroke death