Rep. Grijalva Introduces the Fairness for Farm Workers Act

Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Adelita S. Grijalva introduced the Fairness for Farm Workers Act , legislation to strengthen federal labor protections for agricultural workers by expanding overtime protections and narrowing exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
When the FLSA established the 40-hour work week and overtime pay in 1938, it left out agricultural workers entirely, a carve-out written to appease Southern segregationists who refused labor protections to the Black workers dominating the industry at the time. While farm workers gained partial minimum wage protections in 1966, the overtime exclusion was never fixed. Today, the average farm worker family earns between $25,000 and $29,999 a year, the cost of a law that still doesn't guarantee them overtime pay. This legislation was first introduced by then-Senator Kamala Harris and Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva in 2018. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) has introduced the companion bill in the U.S. Senate during this 119 th Congress.
“Farm workers play an essential role in the nation’s food and agricultural economy yet remain one of the only groups of workers still excluded from full overtime protections under federal law, ” said Rep. Grijalva . “This bill is fundamentally about fairness – ensuring that the workers who keep America fed receive the same workplace protections and benefits as any other worker.”
This legislation comes as the Trump Administration’s attempt to lower wages for farm workers even further was blocked by the courts last week.
“It’s shameful for this administration to try to undercut farm worker wages in order to address a labor shortage of its own making through its cruel immigration agenda,” continued Rep. Grijalva.
“Since 1938, farm workers have been excluded from basic federal wage laws such as the right to overtime pay,” said UFW President Teresa Romero. “Today, with farm worker wages under attack, it is time to finally end this racist Jim Crow exclusion once and for all.”
The Fairness for Farm Workers Act would:
The Fairness for Farm Workers Act has been endorsed by over 100 organizations including United Farm Workers (UFW), American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), HEAL, Communication Workers of America (CWA), CRLA Foundation, NAACP, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Latino Justice PRLDEF, Farm Labor Organizing Committee, National Center for Law and Economic Justice, Legal Aid Justice Center, Hispanic Federation, Migrant Justice, Farmworker Justice, SEIU, UAW, UnidosUS, National Council of Churches, National Employment Law Project, National Farm Worker Ministry, and Equal Rights Advocates. Read the full text of the bill here .
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