News Article Type: Press Room

Farmworker Justice opposes the “Save Local Business Act” introduced in the House today because it would remove an important mechanism to protect farmworkers and other low-wage workers from suffering violations of the minimum wage and child labor requirements.  

“The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which sets minimum wage, overtime, and child labor standards, adopted a definition of employment relationships based on 50 years of experience under state laws that evolved to address employers’ efforts to evade child labor and other labor laws.  This bill contravenes 130 years of experience in how to address sweatshops and other labor abuses,” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice, a national advocacy organization for farmworkers.  “This bill, if enacted, would result in massive violations of the minimum wage and other labor abuses in agriculture that would harm farmworkers and harm the reputation of the entire agricultural sector.”

Many agricultural workers suffer violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and other basic labor protections.   Often, when such workers try to remedy illegal employment practices, they run into a problem:  the farm operator that really determines their job terms and has the capacity to prevent abuses denies that it is their “employer” for purposes of the minimum wage and other labor protections.  Instead, the farm operator claims that a “farm labor contractor” or other intermediary is the sole “employer” of the farmworkers on its farm.

In most such cases, the definition of employment relationships in the FLSA allows courts and the Department of Labor to consider the farm operator and the farm labor contractor to be “joint employers” and jointly responsible for complying with the law.   

The so-called “Save Local Business Act” would change the definitions of employment relationships under the FLSA and the National Labor Relations Act (which does not apply to farmworkers).   Because the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (AWPA) refers to the definition in the Fair Labor Standards Act, the proposed law may also apply to AWPA.  AWPA is the principal federal employment law for farmworkers, regulating employment contracts and the use of farm labor contractors.

This bill would make it far more difficult to hold a farm operator jointly liable for minimum wage violations.  A farm operator could make major decisions about the conditions under which farmworkers are employed, but avoid “employer” status by using a farm labor contractor instead of its own supervisor to ensure that its decisions were carried out.  This is an old avoidance scheme that has been the subject of numerous lawsuits in which farm operators have been held to be joint employers with their farm labor contractors.  This bill seeks to reverse those holdings.  

“Farm operators want to assure their profit by exerting substantial control over the work performed on their farm.  They should not be able to take advantage of the benefits of their power over workers but use farm labor contracting to escape the responsibility owed to workers,” added Goldstein.

 

Read moreFarmworker Justice Statement on “Save Local Business Act”

Regarding today’s hearing of the House Judiciary immigration subcommittee titled “Agricultural Guestworkers: Meeting the Growing Needs of American Farmers,” Farmworker Justice President Bruce Goldstein stated:   “The situation facing our nation’s farmworkers and food system is dire.  At least half and likely more of our nation’s farmworkers are undocumented.  These farmworkers are living and working in fear due to the Administration’s criminalization of immigrants and the increasing pace of indiscriminate arrests and deportations of immigrants. The most important step to take now is to pass legislation that gives current undocumented farmworkers and their family members the opportunity to obtain immigration status and eventual U.S. citizenship.”

This hearing is an opportunity to move forward a positive and workable solution in Congress that will meet the needs of workers, agricultural employers, and our food system. The Agricultural Worker Program Act, which was introduced in Congress by Rep. Gutierrrez and Sen. Feinstein, and cosponsors, would recognize the hard work and contributions of experienced farmworkers by providing them an opportunity to earn lawful permanent residency through continued agricultural work. This bill would benefit America by ensuring farmworkers the ability to continue working and contributing to the communities in which they have long been members; providing a stable workforce for employers; and helping to ensure a secure, safe and responsible food system for consumers.

The hearing is focused on agricultural “guestworkers.”  We know from our own history and world-wide experiences that a guestworker system is not an appropriate solution to solve the current problems.  We are already seeing unprecedented expansion in the H-2A program; there is no cap on the number of H-2A visas per year and many more employers are applying.  We are deeply concerned about this expansion: both for our domestic labor force which may be losing access to needed farm jobs, and for H-2A workers, who are vulnerable to exploitation due to their dependent status on their employer and other structural program flaws. America is a nation of immigrants, not guestworkers.  We must respect the humanity of farmworkers and treat them as we would treat others who contribute to our nation’s success, offering them the opportunity to be permanent members of our society and the communities they help build.

Read moreFarmworker Justice Statement on House Immigration Subcommittee Hearing addressing Agricultural Guestworkers: Congress Should Pass Immigration Reform that Respects the Contributions of Farmworkers to Our Economy and Society

The House Appropriations Committee, while voting on the spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security today, suddenly added a fundamental, substantive change to the H-2A temporary foreign agricultural worker program.  The amendment would require the U.S. government to approve employers’ applications for permission to hire agricultural guestworkers for jobs that are year-round; H-2A visas could be issued without regard to whether the jobs are temporary or seasonal.  The effort to change the scope of the H-2A program through an amendment on the appropriations bill was led by Rep. Newhouse (R-WA), with the support of Representatives Cuellar (D-TX) and Aguilar (D-CA).

               

Farmworker Justice strongly opposes this proposed change and the method by which it was adopted.  Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice, said: “Expanding the H-2A program to year-round jobs would contravene the purpose of the program and further distort the agricultural labor market.  The H-2A program is premised on the idea that it may be difficult to find U.S. workers for seasonal farm jobs because they yield lower annual incomes than year-round jobs. That same logic does not apply to year-round employment. Agricultural employers with year-round jobs should do what any other employer must do to attract and retain workers: improve wages and working conditions.”

 

This amendment does nothing to fix the H-2A program.  The H-2A program is rife with abuses resulting from unscrupulous employers that take advantage of the vulnerable guestworkers, displacing U.S. workers and undermining U.S. workers’ labor standards.  Moreover, expanding the H-2A program to include year-round jobs does nothing to address the roughly one million current farmworkers who are undocumented and face the threat of detection and deportation.  It makes little sense to allow employers to hire H-2A workers to displace their current undocumented farmworkers. 

 

Farmworker Justice calls on Congress to prevent this amendment from passing and to pass legislation granting immigration status and a path to citizenship for undocumented workers and their family members. The solution to the agricultural industry’s reliance on immigrant workers must be to respect the contributions and humanity of those workers by passing comprehensive immigration reform. The Agricultural Worker Program Act would do that by providing an opportunity to move forward a positive and workable solution in Congress that will meet the needs of workers, agricultural employers, and our food system.

Read moreFarmworker Justice Condemns House Amendment to the DHS Appropriations Bill Expanding the H-2A Agricultural Guestworker Program to Year-Round Jobs

Farmworker Justice opposes the Senate’s Health Care Bill, released late last week. Similar to the House version, passed in May, the Senate bill would reduce access to health insurance for farmworkers and their families.

The Senate bill, called the “Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017,” eliminates many of the ACA provisions that make health insurance accessible and affordable – individual and employer mandates, cost-sharing reductions, essential health benefits, and Medicaid expansion. It also fundamentally changes Medicaid, reducing federal Medicaid payments to states through a per-capita cap. Additionally, it defunds Planned Parenthood, an important safety-net provider for many women in rural communities.

Most impactful for many farmworkers and their families, the Senate bill, like the House bill, restricts immigrant eligibility for health insurance and tax credits to those who are U.S. citizens, nationals, or “qualified aliens” as defined by section 431 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). Few farmworkers are offered comprehensive health insurance by their employers. Undocumented immigrants do not benefit from Obamacare. The use of the PRWORA definition would exclude more immigrants from coverage even though they are “lawfully present.”  Consequently, temporary foreign agricultural workers hired under the H-2A visa program will lose their access to affordable health insurance.

Farmworkers face numerous health risks yet have few options for health insurance. Under the ACA, farmworkers and their families have made important gains in health insurance coverage. The Senate bill will undo these gains. Farmworkers need more options for health insurance coverage, not fewer. Farmworker Justice opposes any bill that will result in reduced access to health insurance and health care for farmworkers and other low-income, rural Americans.

Read moreFarmworker Justice’s Statement on Senate Health Care Bill

Farmworker and health organizations represented by Earthjustice and Farmworker Justice filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Wednesday for delaying for a year implementation of the revised Certification of Pesticide Applicators (CPA) rule, which includes much needed requirements like mandatory age minimums, as well as better training for pesticide applicators to protect workers and the public from poisoning by the most toxic pesticides.

First enacted in 1974, the CPA rule ensures those who handle the most dangerous pesticides are properly trained and certified before they apply them.  New common-sense protections—which have now been delayed until May 2018—require pesticide applicators to be at least 18-years-old and improve the quality of training materials. The updated CPA rule also says applicators must be able to read and write, and increases the frequency of applicator safety trainings.

According to the EPA, there are about 1 million certified applicators nationwide. Before delaying implementation, the agency said the revised rule could prevent some 1,000 acute poisonings every year.

“EPA’s mission is to protect all Americans from significant risks to human health and yet it’s delaying life-saving information and training for the workers who handle the most toxic pesticides in the country,” said Eve C. Gartner, Earthjustice attorney. “This delay jeopardizes everyone’s health and safety.”

After years of reviews, EPA published the revised CPA Rule on January 4, updating for the first time in years how applicators of restricted use pesticides, or RUPs, are certified. RUPs are the most toxic and dangerous pesticides on the market and can cause humans serious injury or death if they are improperly handled. The rule was scheduled to go into effect March 6, but the Trump Administration delayed it as it placed a mandatory freeze on all regulations coming out of federal agencies.

"It's clear that field workers need these protections now, not later. For years we’ve put mandatory age minimums on things like alcohol, or tobacco, and yet we still let minors handle the most dangerous pesticides or won’t make sure if certified applicators can read and write,” said Erik Nicholson, national vice president of the United Farm Workers. “The Trump Administration is failing to safeguard our communities from preventable risks in the benefit of corporate profit."

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, comes a month after the EPA announced a one-year delay to the rule, while offering the public just 4 days to comment on the move.  Delay means minors or poorly trained applicators can continue to handle some of the most toxic pesticides in agricultural, commercial and residential settings, putting themselves and the public at risk.

"We need to do everything in our power to protect farmworkers from dangerous pesticides, the goal of this litigation is to precisely do that," said Ramon Ramirez, president of Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste.

When the EPA adopted the rule, it pointed to various tragic incidents where children died or were seriously injured when poorly trained applicators misused highly toxic pesticides. The agency concluded stronger standards for those applying RUPs will reduce risks to workers and help protect communities and the environment from toxic harms. Yet in delaying the rule, EPA refused to address these findings, and it failed to explain to the public how a delay would not cause unreasonable risks to people.  

“The CPA rule provides basic, yet critical safety and training requirements for applicators. We can’t delay rules that can save lives,” said Anne Katten of the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation.

There’s been high profile pesticide poisonings that could have been prevented by more stringent protections for public health. Just in 2015 there were two poisoning incidents, one in the U.S. Virgin Islands and another one in Palm City, Florida, which exemplify the need for the updated CPA rule. In both cases children suffered serious brain injuries stemming from the gross errors of pesticide applicators.

“When I was pregnant with my third child, I was mixing and handling pesticides in a local nursery.  I was never given proper training, or personal protective equipment, nor was I under the supervision of a certified applicator,” said Yesica Ramirez of the Farmworker Association of Florida. “My baby was born with craniosynostosis, a birth defect, plus, eczema, and sleep apnea.  I will never know if the pesticides caused this, but I do know that it is important to have stronger regulations for certified applicators to protect the health of our farmworkers and our families.”

"There is no doubt whatsoever that more detailed annual training is essential to provide the protections that pesticide applicators and their families need," said Margaret Reeves, senior scientist at the Pesticide Action Network North America.

“There is no justification for delaying common sense measures to improve safety. Each year of delay will result in more poisonings and deaths,” said Virginia Ruiz, director of occupational and environmental health at Farmworker Justice.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Farmworker Association of Florida, United Farm Workers, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation and Pesticide Action Network North America.

 

Read moreTrump EPA Faces Lawsuit For Delaying Protections From Most Toxic Pesticides

Washington, D.C- Today, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), joined by 26 cosponsors, introduced the “Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017.” It is the companion to the bill of the same name introduced by Sen. Feinstein three weeks ago, S.1034. The bill would allow many undocumented farmworkers and their family members the opportunity to earn legal immigration status and citizenship.  
 
Farmworker Justice strongly supports the Agricultural Worker Program Act because it would provide a needed, meaningful opportunity for farmworkers and family members to earn lawful permanent residency with a path to citizenship. The farmworkers and family members who obtain immigration status under this legislation would no longer have to live and work in fear of arrest and deportation.  The bill would help stabilize the farm labor force, providing farms and ranches with authorized, experienced farmworkers.
 
Farmworker Justice welcomes the introduction of this bill in the House of Representatives by Rep. Gutierrez, who is a member of the Judiciary Committee and for many years has advocated for reasonable immigration reform and for fair treatment of farmworker families. The Agricultural Worker Program Act is supported by many labor, immigrant rights and other organizations, including the United Farm Workers, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, PCUN (Oregon’s farmworker union) and the National Farm Worker Ministry.    
 
The Agricultural Worker Program Act stands in stark contrast to other bills in the House and Senate that would create harsh agricultural guestworker programs with no meaningful solution for the current undocumented farmworkers or their employers who depend on their skills, experience and knowledge. 
 
For more information on the bill, please see our Fact Sheet.

Read moreFarmworker Justice Statement: Rep. Luis Gutierrez Introduces Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017 in House

Yesterday, the House passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA), a bill that repeals and replaces the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The AHCA would roll back the gains farmworkers and their families have made under the ACA. In addition to repealing the employer and individual mandates, the AHCA will eliminate protections for individuals’ pre-existing conditions, reduce access to comprehensive health insurance and the ACA’s essential health benefits, and end Medicaid expansion. It will also make health insurance less affordable for low-income individuals and families by restructuring the ACA’s tax credits. Not only will tax credits be based on age instead of income, but eligibility for tax credits will be restricted to a narrow category of immigrants. Farmworkers in the U.S. on H-2A temporary work visas, who are currently able to enroll in health insurance at affordable rates under the ACA, will no longer qualify for tax credits.

Agricultural work is one of the most hazardous occupations in the U.S. Congress should act to address health disparities in farmworker communities instead of repealing their access to meaningful care. Farmworker Justice opposes the AHCA and any efforts to reduce access to health care for farmworkers and their families. Given the numerous barriers to health care, farmworkers need more options for health insurance coverage, not fewer.

Read moreFarmworker Justice Statement on the American Health Care Act

Farmworker Justice welcomes the introduction of the Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017 and supports its enactment.  We thank Senator Feinstein for her leadership in support of reasonable, workable and fair immigration reform.

This bill provides progress toward comprehensive immigration reform while addressing the unique and urgent needs of agricultural and rural communities. Americans depend on the farm labor force for the production of abundant, safe, healthy, affordable food. Yet, the status quo for farmworkers and agricultural employers is untenable. Highly publicized immigration enforcement and the terror it creates are threatening many farmworker families and our agricultural system. The ability to legalize immigration status is key to enabling farmworkers to live and work without fear and seek improvements to their working and living conditions.

 “With a majority of agricultural workers in the U.S. lacking immigration status, and the supply of farm labor constantly threatened by immigration enforcement, Congress must reform our broken immigration system. This bill would help ensure a stable, legal workforce in agriculture, which is good for farmworkers, employers, consumers and the national interest,” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice.

The bill would establish an earned legalization program under which certain farmworkers who meet agricultural work requirements, national security clearance requirements, and other obligations are given temporary permission to work in agriculture for three to five years and the opportunity to earn immigration status with a path to citizenship.  

The bill would keep the H-2A agricultural guestworker program intact; needed reforms could be addressed in future comprehensive immigration reform legislation. The H-2A program, which allows an unlimited number of work visas each year, has modest but important protections against abuse of U.S. and foreign workers that should be more effectively enforced. The bill would minimize the need for use of the H-2A program by providing a meaningful, long-term solution for agricultural employers through the earned legalization program.  

“The Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017 is a fair and sensible way to reform our immigration system while also providing a stable workforce for U.S. farmers and ranchers, contributing to the sustainability of U.S. agriculture for generations to come,” said Goldstein.  “Congress should embrace Senator Feinstein’s Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017.”  

Read moreStatement on the Introduction of the Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017