Georgia - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

Georgia does not have a definition of agricultural workers under state law for the purposes of wage and overtime laws.

Courts have interpreted the term “farm laborers,” as used in the Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act, to mean laborers who are employed in or about the business of farming, and the word “farming,” in its ordinary sense, signifies a cultivation of land for the production of agricultural crops. (Utica Mut. Ins. Co. v. Winters, 77 Ga. App. 550, 553 (1948).

Wages and Overtime

Minimum Wage

• Georgia has a state minimum wage law. (O.C.G.A. § 34-4-1, et seq.) 
• The current minimum wage is $5.15/hour. (O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3(a))

• Employees covered under FLSA are not covered by the Georgia Minimum Wage Law. Instead, the federal minimum wage applies to these workers. Although agricultural workers are not outright excluded, in practice, most will be covered by FLSA and, therefore, excluded from the state wage law.

Overtime

Georgia does not have a state law regarding overtime pay.

State Enforcement Agency

Georgia Department of Labor – will refer complaints to the DOL, Wage and Hour Division. Workers covered by the state minimum wage law may bring civil action in state court to recover wages, liquidated damages, costs and attorney fees. (O.C.G.A. § 34-4-6)

Website: https://dol.georgia.gov/obtain-information-about-employment-issue

Occupational Safety and Health

Workers’ Compensation

• Agricultural workers are exempt from workers’ compensation coverage in Georgia. (O.C.G.A. § 34-9-2(a)(2))  
• Agricultural employers may voluntarily elect to provide coverage to their workers ( O.C.G.A. § 34-9-2.3)

State Enforcement Agency:
State Board of Workers’ Compensation

Website: https://sbwc.georgia.gov/ 
Relevant Forms: https://sbwc.georgia.gov/file-claim

Field Sanitation

• Georgia does not have a state law regarding field sanitation.

Federal Enforcement Agency:
US DOL OSHA – Georgia Offices

Website: https://www.osha.gov/contactus/bystate/GA/areaoffice

Pesticide Safety

• There is a state law regarding pesticide safety in agriculture – the Georgia Pesticide Use and Application Act. (GA. CODE ANN. §§ 2-7-90 – 2-7-114 )
• Suspected pesticide poisoning is not a reportable illness for health care providers. It is optional to report pesticide poisoning to the GA Department of Health.  

State Enforcement Agency:
Georgia Department of Agriculture 

Website: http://agr.georgia.gov/pesticides.aspx

Georgia Department of Health – Chemical Hazards Division (for reporting poisoning)

Website: https://dph.georgia.gov/chemical-hazards

Right to Join Unions and Collective Bargaining in Agriculture

• There is no provision (or judicial interpretation of a provision) in the state constitution that grants farmworkers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation or the right to engage in collective bargaining with their employers.
• Georgia is a ‘right to work’ state. (Ga. Code Ann. § 34-6-21, et seq.), meaning no person can be compelled to join a union as a condition of employment or be required to pay union dues.

State Legal Services Organizations

Georgia Legal Services Program, Farmworker Rights Division
https://farmworkerrights.org/