Posted December 17, 2013
A recent report shows that stronger labor protections
and enforcement are needed to improve conditions for farm workers in the United
States, according to an Agri-Pulse article available here.
The report,
released on Tuesday by Farmworker Justice, says that “while enactment 30 years
ago of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (AWPA) has
resulted in some improvement in wage theft and dangerous working conditions,
more work needs to be done.”
The AWPA requires agricultural employers to “disclose
and comply with job terms, regulates the use of farm labor contractors, and
contains safety standards for some housing and transportation vehicles.”
Representative George Miller (D-CA), ranking member of
the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said, “Because our immigration
system is broken, the majority of farmworkers lack authorized immigration
status, and most are too afraid to step forward to challenge illegal employment
practices.” Miller continued, “Unscrupulous
employers need to be weeded out, and abused workers need greater access to the
justice system and immigration.”
The report concludes that the distinction between
migrant and seasonal workers should be eliminated for protections under the
AWPA and that damages for payroll and wage violations should be tripled or
quadrupled.
The full report is available here. For more information on agriculture and labor
law, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
