The National Agricultural Law Center
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Labor


Overview

Many complex state and federal laws have been enacted since the depression era in an effort to protect workers in all industries. These laws regulate many aspects of employment including wages, working conditions, immigration, and employment opportunities. Application of these laws to agricultural employees is often more complicated because special exemptions and exceptions are provided for their employers. The complicated nature of laws and regulations for agricultural employers requires special vigilance to maintain compliance with the myriad of requirements. Read the full overview

Note: Recently added resources are posted at the top of the applicable sections.

Major Statutes

Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1801-1872
Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-219
Portal-to-Portal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 251-262
Occupational Safety and Health Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 651-678
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, 7 U.S.C. §§ 136-136y
Immigration Reform and Control Act, Pub. L. No. 99-603, 100 Stat. 3359 (1986)
(amending Immigration and Nationality Act and codified at scattered sections of 8 U.S.C.)

Regulations

Temporary Employment of Foreign Workers in the U.S. Regulations , 20 C.F.R. §§ 655.0-655.1319
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Regulations, 29 C.F.R. §§ 500.0-500.271
Enforcement of Contractual Obligations for Temporary Alien Agricultural Workers ... Regulations, 29 C.F.R. §§ 501.0-501.47
Child Labor Regulations, 29 C.F.R. §§ 570.1-570.5; 570.70-570.72; 570.123
Waiver of Child Labor Provisions for Agriculture Regulations, 29 C.F.R. §§ 575.1-575.9
Exemptions Applicable to Agriculture Under the Fair Labor Standards Act , 29 C.F.R. §§ 780.0-780.1016
Occupational Safety and Health Standards for Agriculture:
        29 C.F.R. §§ 1910.111(a) and (b); 1910.142; 1910.145; 1910.266
        29 C.F.R. §§ 1910.1027; 1910.1200; 1910.1201
        29 C.F.R. §§ 1928.1-1928.1027
Worker Protection Standard Regulations , 40 C.F.R. §§ 170.1-170.260
Certification of Pesticide Applicators Regulations , 40 C.F.R. §§ 171.1-171.11
Federal Register Rules Open for Comment
Center published Federal Register Digest

Case Law

Note: Recently summarized cases are listed and linked in Recent Postings.

Case Law Index for Labor

Administrative Law Decisions

Administrative Decisions (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - US CIS)
Board of Immigration Interim Decisions (U.S. CIS)
Interpretations (U.S. CIS)


Center Research Publications

Mississippi Direct Farm Business Guide (Tarr, Cunningham & Rumley)
Proposed Changes for Child Labor in Agriculture (Rumley, 2011)
Legal and Business Guide for Specialty Crop Producers (National AgLaw Center & U. AR Division of Agriculture)
Arkansas Direct Farm Business Guide (M. Tarr, A. Endres, J. Endres & N. Johnson, U. IL @ Urbana)
Handbook of Laws and Regulations Affecting Arkansas Farm Employers and Employees (Looney & Copeland, 1993)
Agricultural Labor: An Employer's Obligations and Responsibilities - PowerPoint Presentation (
Springsteen, 2009)


Congressional Research Service Reports

CRS Subject(s):
Farm Labor

Agricultural Law Bibliography

Introduction   |   Keyword Search   |   Browse Categories

Legal publications on Labor:
Farm Labor
Farm Policy and Legislative Analysis


Reference Resources

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS)
Temporary Workers
Employer Information
Laws and Regulations


National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
Farm Safety


Economic Research Service (ERS)
Farm Employment
Briefing Room: Farm Labor
Publications:
Profile of Hired Farmworkers, A 2008 Update (Kandel, 2008)
Hired Farmworkers a Major Input For Some U.S. Farm Sectors (Kandel, Amber Waves, 2008)
Summary of Laws and Regulations Affecting Agricultural Employees, 2000 (Runyon, 2000)


Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Agriculture
National Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center
Worker Protection Standard
Worker Safety and Training
Worker Protection Standard Fact Sheets
How to Comply with the Worker Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides: What Employers
Need to Know
(2005)


Department of Labor
Employment Law Guide, Wages and Hours Worked: Worker Protections in Agriculture
Certification for Temporary or Seasonal Agricultural Work (H-2A) (Employment and
Training Administration)
Labor Fact Sheets (Wage and Hour Division)
Employment Law Guide: Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection
Compliance Assistance Employment Law Guide
Temporary Agricultural Laborers H-2A
Compliance with the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act
A Profile of U.S. Farmworkers (1997)
Career Guide to Industries: Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations (Bureau of Labor and Statistics)
Youth & Labor: Agricultural Employment


Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Agricultural Operations
Compliance Assistance: Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
Standards
State Safety and Health Plans


Office of the Chief Economist (USDA-OCE)

Labor Laws
Labor Legislation
Labor Data
Worker Safety
Research Organizations
Jobs and Workers

Congressional Resources
Reports on Agricultural Labor and Farm Workers (Government Accountability Office)


Other Federal Resources
Agricultural Employer's Tax Guide (Internal Revenue Service)
Topic: Agriculture (NIOSH/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
National Ag Safety Database (NIOSH/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Farm Labor (National Agricultural Statistics Service)


International Resources
Managing Labor Migration: Temporary Worker Programmes for the 21st Century (Martin,
UN, 2006)
Rural Development (European Union - EU)
Employment in Rural Areas (EU)
Guide to Labor and Employment Laws for Migrant Workers in North America (Commission for Labor
Cooperation - NAALC)
Protection of Migrant Agricultural Workers in Canada, Mexico and the United States (NAALC, 2002)


Additional Resources
Labor Posts (United States Agricultural & Food Law and Policy Blog)
National Immigrant Farming Initiative
Agricultural Safety and Health (U. MN)
Farm Safety and Agriculture (OK St. U.)
Agricultural Law Labor Links (PA St. U.)
Agricultural Labor Management (U. CA - Berkeley)
Agricultural Labor Management (U. VT)
California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB)
Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC)
Farmworker Justice
Michigan Agriculture Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Program
National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH)
Seasonal Farm Labor Camp Program (PA Dept. of Agric.)
Rural Migration News (U. CA - Davis)
The Agricultural and Labor Program, Inc. (ALPI)
United Farm Workers (UFW)


Publications
Manager's Guide to Safe Trucking During Agricultural Planting and Harvest Season (American Trucking
Association's Agricultural and Food Transporters Conference, 2009)
Ag Help Wanted: Guidelines for Managing Agricultural Labor (Western Center for Risk Management
Education, 2002)
Agricultural Employment in an Enlarged EU: Does the CAP Reform/Introduction Matter? (Baum et al., 2006)
Farm Labor Employers' Handbook (NM Chile Task Force, 2002)
Child Labor Law (Uchtmann and Parr, Farmdoc, 2001)
Minimum Wage and Employment Taxes (Uchtmann and Parr, Farmdoc, 2001)
Hiring and Managing Farm Labor (U. MO Ext.)





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