Farmworker Occupational Health and Safety in the 1990s

Migrant Clinicians Network . “Issues Paper on Child Labor in Agriculture,” Clinical supplement of the Migrant Health Newsline, May/June 1990.

Migrant Legal Action Program . “Migrant Law Developments,” Clearinghouse Review 23(9): 1202–13, January 1990.

U. S. Department of Labor . State Workers' Compensation Laws. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor, January 1990. The states that cover farmworkers the same as all other employees include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio and oregon. The 24 states with partial coverage for farmworkers include: Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The following 14 states permit agricultural employers to secure workers compensation coverage voluntarily, but there are no statutory requirements for any coverage: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Migrant Health Program . An Atlas of State Profiles Which Estimate Number of Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers and Members of Their Families. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, March 1990.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency . Worker Protection Standards for Agricultural Pesticides. Federal Register 53(131): 25970–26021, July 8, 1988.

Wilk V. “The EPA Proposed Worker Protection Regulations: A Critique,” Clinical supplement of the Migrant Health Newsline, August/September 1988.

Congressional Record 136(145): H11106, October 22, 1990.

Runnels J. “Truck, van collide — 4 die, 7 hurt,” Orlando Sentinel, p. 1, November 24, 1990.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration . 29 CFR Part 1928. Field Sanitation; Final Rule. Federal Register 52(84): 16050–96, May 1, 1987.

Bureau of Labor Statistics . Employment and Earnings. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor, 1985.

FLSA, 29 U.S.C. §216, provides for civil money penalties and criminal penalties for violation. In addition, the aggrieved employee may sue in federal court for unpaid minimum wages, uncompensated overtime, and an additional amount in liquidated damages. Equitable relief is also available. Upon finding for the plaintiff, the court shall also award attorney fees and costs. The Secretary may also seek to collect the unpaid wages but acceptance of such amounts by the employee waives all the employee's rights under the private cause of action. AWPA, 29 U.S.C. 1854, provides for a federal cause of action for all actual damages or statutory damages up to $500 per violation. The Secretary has no authority to collect damages on behalf of an aggrieved employee either by administrative or court action.

Public Law 88–582, as amended.

Senate Report No. 93-1295 (1974).

House Report No. 97-885 (1982).

Congressional Record 128: H10456, December 20, 1982.