Farmworkers often encounter violent labor practices in the hands of unscrupulous companies. Employees all too frequently labor for companies who skirt the minimum wage legislation or practice other types of wage thieving, work under dangerous or unhealthy conditions, or are forced to dwell in substandard housing. Employment abuses in agriculture are difficult to tackle since farm work isn't covered by many significant labor protections enjoyed by most other workers in this nation. However, farmworkers do depend on a few of the terms and conditions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act ("AWPA") to provide minimal levels of employee protections. These laws and their effect on the lives of farmworkers are explained in some detail below.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

FLSA, initially enacted in 1938, guarantees most workers a minimum wage for every hour worked. FLSA also provides for overtime pay by requiring that many workers who work over 40 hours in a workweek be paid and one-half times the normal rate of pay for every hour over forty hours each week. FLSA further requires companies to comply with recordkeeping requirements, such as keeping payroll records for workers

FLSA now employs the minimal wage and recordkeeping provisions to many agricultural employees and companies. Agricultural employees that are paid on a piecework basis as opposed to an hourly rate basis are eligible to get the minimum wage -- their average earnings must be enough to yield a mean hourly salary at least equal to minimum wage. What's more, the numerous agricultural employees found on smaller farms -- any plantation which uses fewer than about seven employees in a calendar quarter -- aren't even protected from minimum wage provisions of the FLSA.

The FLSA has child labor protections offering less protection to agricultural employees than to other employees. Under the legislation, for jobs given by DOL as"poisonous," there's a minimum age of 18 years for many sectors except agriculture, which includes a minimum age of 16 for these jobs, although agriculture is just one of the three most hazardous industries. In different ways, the child-labor protections in agriculture tend to be lower compared to other sectors. By way of instance, for many occupations the standard minimum age is 16 years (with few exceptions), however, in agriculture, it's 14 years (with several exceptions). Also, there are fewer constraints in agriculture over the number of hours which children are allowed to operate.

This fact sheet offers general information regarding the use of this FLSA in agricultural employment.

Coverage

Virtually all workers engaged in agriculture have been covered by the Act because they produce goods for interstate trade. There are, however, some exemptions that exempt some employees from the minimum wage provisions, the overtime cover provisions, or even both.

Agriculture doesn't include work done on a farm that isn't incidental to or in combination with this kind of farmer's farming operation. Additionally, it doesn't include operations done off a farm when done by workers employed by someone aside from the farmer whose agricultural goods are being worked.

Any company in agricultural-days that didn't use more than 500 man days of agricultural labor in any calendar quarter of the previous calendar year is exempt in the minimum wage and overtime cover conditions of the FLSA for the present calendar year. A"guy day" is defined as any day during which an employee performs agricultural performance for a minimum of one hour.

Additional exemptions in the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Act for agricultural personnel apply to the following:

• Agricultural workers that are immediate relatives of the company
• Those largely participated on the scope from the production of livestock
• Nearby hand harvest laborers who commute daily from their permanent residence, are compensated on a piece-rate basis in traditionally piece-rate jobs and were engaged in agriculture less than thirteen weeks during the previous calendar year

Prerequisites

Though exempt from the overtime requirements of the FLSA, agricultural workers have to be paid the national minimal wage (unless exempt from a minimum wage as mentioned above). There are many limitations on the employment of minors less than 16 decades old, especially in jobs declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor. The FLSA also requires that specified documents be stored.

The law includes specific protections for employees that prohibit employers from displacing any employee to hire someone at the youth minimum wage.

Average Issues

Not keeping/maintaining recordings of their names and permanent addresses of temporary agricultural personnel, dates of arrival of minors under age 19hours worked by workers being compensated on a piece-rate basis.

Struggling to pay heed to workers whose jobs are linked to agriculture but that don't fulfill the definition of agriculture inside the Act.

Agricultural employers who use the services of a farm labor contractor could be joint employers with the builder in respect to the workers. Joint employment means both the builder and the farmer are accountable for complying with all the minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping, and youth employment provisions of law. If either party fails to abide by the law both parties might be held responsible.

Ultimately, many agricultural employers, agricultural associations, and farm labor contractors are subject to some other statute, also administered by the Wage and Hour Division -- both the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. Firms in agriculture or agriculture-related companies should determine how this legislation applies to their operations.

1983 Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act

The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (AWPA/MSPA)is the primary national employment legislation for farmworkers. 

AWPA involves these prerequisites: agricultural companies must disclose terms of job in the time of recruiting and comply with these conditions; companies, when utilizing farm labor contractors ("FLCs" or"crew leaders") to recruit, manage, or transportation farmworkers, must affirm the FLCs are registered and accredited by the U.S. Department of Labor; suppliers of home to farmworkers must fulfill local and national housing criteria, and transporters of all farmworkers should use vehicles that meet fundamental national security criteria and are guaranteed. Much like FLSA, AWPA does not apply to smaller companies.

• Previously, agricultural companies have sought Congressional intervention to weaken AWPA's protections and authorities. Legislative proposals have tried to reduce security requirements for the transport and home of farmworkers, weaken enforcement mechanisms, and define employment associations so many growers couldn't be held accountable as"companies" for labor violations. The agricultural companies' requirements for modifications in AWPA are unjustified. Rather than being diminished, AWPA and also the enforcement of AWPA ought to be strengthened.