Abstract: On Friday May 15, 2009, an employee of Finta Enterprises, Inc., dba Finta Grading and Excavation Services in Byron, CA, was working as a foreman. Along with a laborer, he was removing sandbags and plastic sheeting from the side of a hill. The temperature that day was about 93 or 94 degrees Fahrenheit, and there was a light wind. There was no shade at all on the hill. The company owner reported that the workers had plenty of water; access to shade within less than two minutes, provided by two air-conditioned trucks; and access to a sales office in a building adjacent to the hill. The crewmembers were encouraged to drink often, and they drank a gallon of water each in the first half of their shift. The workers were aware of what recovery breaks were and were encouraged to take them as needed. They had two breaks before lunch. They were wearing t-shirts, long pants, hard-toe shoes, hard hats, and orange vests. The company owner and the foreman reported that he was aware of the importance of acclimatization to the heat, as the majority of the company's excavation and grading work was in the San Joaquin Valley, where temperatures were consistently high. The foreman reported that he had not consumed any alcohol the night before and that he was well-rested. According to the owner, soon after the workers took their lunch break in the shade, when employees drank water, the foreman, without any warning, lost consciousness. He rolled approximately 20 to 30 feet down the hill, sustaining superficial head injuries in the form of lacerations. Emergency medical technicians were called, and they transported the foreman to the emergency room. The company owner, who had not been at the site at the time of the incident, arrived shortly thereafter and stayed with the foreman in the emergency room until his release several hours later. The foreman reported that on the day of the incident, he was feeling fine and had no heat-related symptoms. He had lunch, and when he resumed work after 15 or 20 minutes, he became dizzy and weak, collapsed, and rolled down the hill. He reported that he was surprised by the rapid onset of symptoms. The hospital determined that the cause of the fainting was dehydration, and it did not find any serious injuries as result of the fall. The foreman went back to work with modified duties. The company owner said that all employees knew how and when to summon emergency services to job sites, because they had been instructed. All employees had company-issued cell phones and were instructed to use them in emergencies. The owner had provided all his employees with heat illness prevention training in numerous tailgate safety meetings. The foreman affirmed that the company's training had been informal, but it had been repeated. Both he and the owner were knowledgeable or somewhat knowledgeable on all nine elements of the training regimen. The employer had no written procedures for any of the elements of the Heat Illness Prevention regulation. Likewise, he had no employees trained in first aid, and he had made no arrangements with other onsite contractors for first aid. He maintained that he did have a health and safety program and a code of safe work practices.