PENNSYLVANIA - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

The Pennsylvania Seasonal Farm Labor Act (“PA SFLA”) (43 P.S. § 1301.101 et seq.) defines the term “seasonal farm worker” at 43 P.S. § 1301.103.
The state’s minimum wage law defines “labor on a farm” at Pa. Code § 231.1.

The Pennsylvania minimum wage is the federal minimum wage, currently $7.25 per hour. (43 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 333.104(a)(1))
Employers must pay seasonal farm workers the state minimum wage. (43 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 1301.201)
Persons engaged in “labor on a farm” are excluded from the state minimum wage protection unless they are protected under the Pennsylvania Seasonal Farm Labor Act. (43 P.S. § 333.105(a)(1))

There is a state law regarding overtime pay. 43 P.S. § 333.104(c).
Agricultural workers (persons engaged in “labor on a farm”) are excluded from the right to receive overtime under state law. (43 P.S.§ 333.105(a)(1)) Persons protected under the Pennsylvania Seasonal Farm Labor Act are also not entitled to overtime pay. (43 P.S. § 1301.201(c))
Although workers are not entitled to overtime pay, employers are prohibited from requiring seasonal farm workers to work more than six days per week, more than 48 hours per week, or more than 10 hours per day. (43 P.S. § 1301.207(a))

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, Bureau of Labor Law Compliance

Most farmworkers are covered by the Pennsylvania state workers’ compensation law. (77 P.S. § 463) Farmworkers who work fewer than 30 days or earn less than $1,200 in a calendar year from one employer are not covered by the state workers’ compensation law.

State Enforcement Agency:

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry

There is a state law that governs field sanitation for seasonal farm workers. (43 Pa. Cons. Stat § 1301.308)

State Enforcement Agency:

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

Website: www.agriculture.pa.gov

Pesticides are regulated in Pennsylvania pursuant to the Pennsylvania Pesticide Control Act of 1973 (3 P. S. § § 111.21—111.61). See also: https://extension.psu.edu/pesticide-laws-and-regulations.
Suspected pesticide poisoning is not a reportable illness for health care providers.

State Enforcement Agency:

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry

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 to engage in collective bargaining with their employers.
There is no state statute that grants agricultural workers the right to engage in concerted activity, join and organize labor unions free from retaliation. There is a state law, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act, 43 P.S. § 211.1 et seq., that protects workers’ right to join and organize labor unions and engage in concerted protected activities and collective bargaining to the extent that such protections are not pre-empted by federal law. This law excludes “agricultural laborers” from its protections. (43 P.S. § 211.3)
*Note: Mushroom workers (and likely workers in indoor greenhouse operations) are protected by the state law as workers in horticultural specialties that were not intended to be exempted as “agricultural laborers” and thus have protected rights to engage in concerted activities, to join and organize labor unions and engage in collective bargaining. See Vlasic Farms Inc. v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Bd., 565 Pa. 555, 777 A.2d 80 (2001)

State Enforcement Agency:

Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board

Website: https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Labor-Management-Relations/Pages/Pennsylvania-Labor-Relations-Board-(PLRB).aspx

Justice at Work

Philadelphia Legal Assistance, Pennsylvania Farmworker Project

Villanova Farmworker Legal Aid Clinic