The legislation stems from a 2019 incident where dozens of farmworkers, including their children, were exposed to pesticides. The state must show violators sprayed off-label to assess higher fines.
Consciente de que los trabajadores agrícolas se exponían a viviendas inseguras y a robos salariales, el Gobierno creó hace 50 años un programa para corregir esas desigualdades pero documentos internos evidencian que su funcionamiento es deficiente.
Recognizing farmworkers endure unsafe housing and wage theft, the government created a program 50 years ago to address the inequities. Internal documents show a failing system.
While oversight of H2A farmworker housing is enforced by the federal government, migrant farmworker housing is state jurisdiction. Some Midwestern states inspect twice — others not at all.
“This bill could help usher in a new generation of African American farmers,” a Black producer said. “But, if it fails, it’s gonna continue to dwindle.”
“We've had to go back to our customers and request additional compensation to be able to make sure our drivers were getting paid enough,” an owner of a trucking company said.