In 2022, the agricultural and food sectors provided approximately ten percent of employment in the United States. So far, in 2024, Legislation has been considered in numerous states that affects agricultural labor. Common themes include child labor, workplace safety, compensation, and concerted activities.
Child Labor
In 2024, four states considered legislation related to child labor. Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) in 1938, which in part, prohibits the employment of minors in oppressive child labor. The FLSA includes some exceptions for agricultural labor, including allowing children fourteen and older to work in non-hazardous agricultural activities outside of school hours and allowing children who are twelve and thirteen to work in non-hazardous agricultural activities with consent from the parent or person standing in the place of the parent. The FLSA then lists eleven hazardous jobs in agriculture that children under sixteen may not perform. Other jobs are considered hazardous for minors between 16-18 years. The FLSA is enforced by the Department of Labor (“DoL”). States may pass their own child labor laws, but the FLSA is seen as the “floor.” In other words, if a state law is less restrictive than the FLSA, then the FLSA will be the standard that employers must follow. If the state law is more restrictive than the FLSA, then the state law will be the standard that employers must follow. A prior NALC article provides a more in-depth overview of child labor laws and agriculture.
Colorado – On June 4, 2024, Governor Jared Polis signed HB1095 into law. Under Colorado law, minors ages twelve and up can perform agricultural work unless the work is considered hazardous by the federal government. Additionally, Colorado law provides a list of hazardous occupations that children under fourteen cannot engage in, except in limited circumstances. HB1095 will increase the penalties for employers that violate Colorado child labor laws payable to both the State and the aggrieved individual. If an employer violates the Colorado provision related to hazardous occupations for children under fourteen, the penalties will be increased to:
- For most first-time violations – fine between $2,000 and $4,000 payable to the state and between $7,000 and $27,000 payable to the aggrieved individual.
- For willful violations or subsequent violations – fine between $5,000 and $10,000 payable to the state and between $15,000 and $65,000 payable to the aggrieved individual.
If an employer violates any other Colorado child labor provision, the penalties will be increased to:
- For most first-time violations – fine between $250 and $1,000 payable to the state and between $500 and $2,000 payable to the aggrieved individual.
- For willful violations or subsequent violations – fine between $500 and $4,000 payable to the state and $2,000 to $6,000 payable to the aggrieved individual.
The law will also allow the Colorado Division of Labor Standards and Statistics to decrease the penalties imposed on employers if “the minor intentionally misled the employer with regard to the minor’s age and the employer engaged in outreach to a reliable third party to verify the minor worker’s age if any reasonable employer could have believed that the minor worker may be under eighteen years of age at the time of hiring.” In addition to the penalties discussed above, an employer who knowingly violates or knowingly fails to comply with any Colorado child labor provision will be committing a misdemeanor and could be subject to additional penalties. Lastly, if an employer takes action against an individual who exercises their rights under the child labor provisions within ninety days of the individual taking action, the law would create a rebuttable presumption that impermissible retaliation occured. HB1095 will go into effect on January 1, 2025.
Florida – On March 22, 2024, Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB49 into law. HB49 primarily updates the schedule that minors, including those employed in agriculture, can work under Florida law. Under the new law, minors who are sixteen or seventeen are prevented from working before 6:30 am and after 11:00 pm only when school is scheduled for the following day. Under current law, minors who are sixteen or seventeen cannot work more than eight hours in any one day when school is scheduled for the following day. HB49 updates this provision to clarify that minors who are sixteen or seventeen may work more than eight hours in one day if the workday is a Sunday or holiday. Under current law, minors who are sixteen or seventeen cannot work more than thirty hours a week when school is in session. The new law allows a minor’s parent or custodian, or the school superintendent to waive this limitation. Lastly, under current law, minors under seventeen may not work more than six consecutive days or for more than four hours continuously without a thirty-minute break for a meal. Under HB49, this provision is updated to apply to minors under fifteen instead of under seventeen. However, minors between the ages of sixteen and seventeen must take a mandated thirty-minute meal break every four hours if they work for eight hours or more in a day. HB49 will go into effect on July 1, 2024.
Virginia – On April 3, 2024, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed HB100 into law. The new law increases penalties for employers who violate the commonwealth’s child labor laws. If an employer violates the child labor laws and a child is seriously injured or dies in the course of employment, the employer will be subject to a fine up to $25,000 per violation, which is increased from $10,000. For all other violations, employers will be subject to fines between $500 and $2,50 per violation. HB100 will go into effect on July 1, 2024.
A bill related to child labor provisions was also introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives during the 2024 legislative session, but was not considered on the floor. Click here to read HB 1795.
Workplace Safety
In 2024, six states considered legislation related to workplace safety.
California – On May 22, 2024, the California State Assembly passed AB1976. Under federal law, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires all businesses to have first aid supplies available at the workplace. AB1976 would expand on the federal requirement and require the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to adopt a rule requiring “first aid materials in a workplace to include naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration to reverse opioid overdose and instructions for using the opioid antagonist.” Under the bill, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board must adopt the rule by July 1, 2027. AB1976 now moves to the California State Senate for consideration.
On May 22, 2024, the California State Senate passed SB1299. The bill would amend California workers’ compensation law by creating a rebuttable presumption that if an agricultural employer fails to comply with California heat illness prevention standards, “any resulting heat-related injury to the employee shall be presumed to arise out of and in the course of employment,” and workers’ compensation is awarded for “full hospital, surgical, medical treatment, disability indemnity, and death benefits.” The bill now moves to the California State Assembly for consideration.
On May 20, 2024, the California State Senate passed SB1105. This bill would update when an employer must provide paid sick leave if the employee is entitled to paid sick leave under California labor law. SB1105 would require employers of outside agricultural employees to provide paid sick days if “the Governor proclaims a state of emergency…, or a local emergency is proclaimed…, due to smoke, heat, or flooding conditions that prevent agricultural employees from working.” The bill now moves to the California State Assembly for consideration.
Another bill (AB2264) was introduced in the California Assembly, but this bill has not been considered on the Assembly floor yet.
Florida – On April 11, 2024, Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB433 into law. This law will prohibit a “political subdivision”, which is defined as “a county, municipality, department, commission, district, board, or other public body, whether corporate or otherwise, created by or under state law,” from, among other things, enacting its own heat exposure protections that are more restrictive than state or federal law. In 2023, Miami-Dade County proposed a local ordinance creating a heat standard for outdoor workers in the county. HB433 would prohibit Miami-Dade County or another county in the state from adopting similar ordinances, and Miami-Dade County’s proposed ordinance has now been withdrawn. HB433 will go into effect on July 1, 2024.
Several other state legislatures introduced bills related to temperature protections including New Jersey (S2422 and A3521), New York (A8935C), Rhode Island (H7650 and S2900), and Pennsylvania (HB2356). None of these bills have been considered on the legislature floor during the 2024 legislative session.
Compensation
In 2024, three states considered legislation related to compensation for agricultural employees.
Connecticut – On May 3, 2024, the Connecticut House passed HB5271. This bill would increase the quarterly compensation threshold from $20,000 to $25,000 for agricultural employers to be required to pay unemployment taxes and for agricultural employees to be eligible for unemployment benefits. The Connecticut legislative session ended on May 8, 2024, so this bill will not be considered by the Connecticut Senate during the 2024 legislative session.
Maine – On April 11, 2024, the Maine House of Representatives and Senate passed LD2273. The bill was vetoed by Governor Janet Mills and the House of Representatives sustained the veto. The bill would have required agricultural employers to pay their employees at least the state minimum wage. The bill also would have required employers to keep records of the hours worked by each employee and the wages paid for at least three years.
Virginia – On January 24, 2024, the Virginia House of Delegates, and on February 29, 2024, the Virginia Senate passed HB157. The bill was vetoed by Governor Youngkin and the House of Delegates sustained the veto. The bill would have removed two exemptions from the Virginia Minimum Wage Act related to agricultural workers. In other words, employers of farm laborers, farm employees, and temporary foreign workers, such as H-2A workers, would have been required to pay these employees at least the Commonwealth’s minimum wage.
Concerted Activities
In 2024, one state considered legislation related to concerted activities for agricultural employees. The National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) provides a federal right to engage in concerted activities, which is defined as “[acting] with coworkers to address work-related issues.” However, this right provided by the NLRA does not apply to agricultural workers. While there is no federal right to engage in concerted activities for agricultural workers, states can pass laws granting this right.
Maine – On April 11, 2024, the Maine House of Representatives and Senate passed LD525. The bill was vetoed by Governor Mills and the House of Representatives sustained the veto. The bill would have established a list of concerted activities, which are “activit[ies] by an employee or group of employees to bring about change in a workplace,” that agricultural employees have a right to participate in or refrain from participating in. Additionally, the bill would have prohibited agricultural employers or employees from interfering with an employees rights to participate in concerted activities. Lastly, the bill provided a framework for the Maine Labor Relations Board to handle employers or employees who engage in prohibited practices.
To read a prior NALC article discussing proposed state legislation updating child labor laws in 2023, click here.
To read a prior NALC article discussing heat safety proposals in 2023, click here.
For more NALC resources on agricultural labor, click here.