UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Abstract: On July 22, 2005, Employee #1 was unloading a moving truck. He had been hired a few hours earlier by Loya Transportation, Inc., an independent contractor for Atlas Relocation Services. Loya Transportation was an interstate line hauler for Atlas Van Lines. A load transported by Loya had reached its destination, and the company had contacted the Atlas agent nearest the destination to secure help unloading the truck. This agent, Hansen Moving Services in Bakersfield, CA, gave Loya the name of Employee #1 to Loya, which then contacted Employee #1 directly. A Loya official observed Employee #1 drinking plenty of water and told him to go into the air conditioned home as often as necessary to stay cool. The official noticed that Employee #1 was slurring his speech and becoming jittery. At one point, the official found Employee #1 inside the cab of his truck with the air conditioning running. When the official saw that Employee #1's lips had turned blue, he had someone call emergency medical services. Employee #1 was taken to Mercy Hospital in Bakersfield, CA. He was hospitalized. On July 29, 2005, Employee #1 died as a result of heat stroke. The temperature on the day of the incident, the official said, was about 110 degrees F. Information provided by the National Weather Service said that it was about 96 degrees F at 3:00 p.m. The company official indicated that he had no IIPP (Injury and Illness Prevention Program). He also did not train or educate Employee #1 on the symptoms of heat stress and how to avoid it. The company did not ensure employee acclimatization to heat.