Ten Bills to Create Dignity and Safe Working Conditions for Food and Farm Workers
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This piece serves as the second blog of the series “Agricultural Workers, Essential but Excluded” in partnership with HEAL Food Alliance.
Food and farm workers touch every part of our food system: they plant and harvest crops, process meat and poultry, conduct food safety inspections, stock shelves in warehouses and grocery stores, and cook and serve food in restaurants. There are more than 21 million of these workers, and they make up 10.4 percent of the US workforce. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, most were designated “essential” workers and forced to work under dangerous conditions. Despite this, the working people in our food and farm systems continue to be historically excluded from (or provided minimal protections under) federal law. With limited protections, food and farm workers are often underpaid, exposed to hazardous conditions, and left vulnerable to abusive and exploitative labor practices.
Current laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) stipulate a minimum wage but provide limited protections for food and farm workers. Under this law, farmworkers are exempt from overtime pay and child labor restrictions are loose. The Migrant and Seasonal Agriculture Worker Protection Act (AWPA/MSPA) offers more protections for farmworkers when it comes to housing, contracts, and transportation, but does not grant these workers the right to unionize or to collective bargaining. However, recent legislative efforts in Congress can pave a path forward in providing food and farm workers with better working conditions, fair wages, and improved well-being.
The following pieces of legislation lay out common-sense solutions to achieve this. Should they pass or be included in a larger omnibus bill like the farm bill, food and farm workers will finally be afforded rights and protections similar to other workers in the United States.
1. Fairness for Farm Workers Act ( S.2253 / H.R.4579 )
Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) introduced this bill to ensure fair compensation by making farmworkers eligible for overtime pay and ending minimum wage exemptions.
2. Supporting Our Farm and Food System Workforce Act ( S.2703)
This legislation would establish an Office of the Farm and Food System Workforce to work with food and farm workers and the USDA to develop recommendations and new initiatives. Additionally, the bill will create a Farm and Food System Worker Advisory Committee comprised of food and farm workers and other relevant stakeholders who will represent worker perspectives, and a Farm and Food System Workforce Interagency Council that will improve coordination and policymaking among various federal agencies. Going further, the bill will mandate reports on agency efforts and the impact policy recommendations will have on food and farm workers. Introduced by Senator Padilla, the bill builds on the recommendations made by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Equity Commission.
3. Agricultural Worker Justice Act (S.2601 / H.R.4978 )
Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) and Representative Greg Casar (D-TX) introduced this legislation to improve wages and safe working conditions. It requires food companies to compensate workers at the prevailing rate for wages and benefits in order to contract with the USDA, which currently oversees more than $11 billion in annual procurement and contracting obligations. Additionally, the bill prohibits corporate stock buybacks and provides enforcement measures to hold bad actors accountable.
4. Child Labor Exploitation Accountability Act ( S.1288 / H.R.2822)
According to the Department of Labor (DOL), there has been a 69 percent increase in incidences of illegal child labor since 2018. Food and farm workers have very limited child labor protections compared with all other workers, and children under 18 years are often found working in meat processing plants and fields, where they can be exposed to dangerous equipment and environments. Under this bill, corporations that exploit children in the food industry will be held accountable. Introduced by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representative Casar, the bill prohibits the USDA from entering into contracts with companies that have violated child labor laws, including vendors and subcontractors with labor infractions. Companies will be required to disclose labor and worker safety violations they have committed, including those of their vendors and contractors. Further, the bill requires the DOL to prepare a list of violators ineligible for USDA contracts and to determine corrective measures needed to regain eligibility.
5. Food Secure Strikers Act (S.2553 /H.R.4845)
Workers who are forced to protest poor working conditions often forego their wages to join picket lines. This bill, introduced by Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) and Representative Alma Adams (D-NC) repeals punitive restrictions on striking workers, enabling them to strike while maintaining their eligibility for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
6. Voice for Farmworkers Act (S.2702)
Introduced by Senator Padilla, this legislation aims to strengthen and expand the USDA Farmworker Coordinator position. Currently, the position lacks adequate staff and resources to address farmworker issues. The bill will provide more staffing capacity and improve the function of the position, making it the point of contact at the agency on farmworker issues, coordinating and providing guidance to the USDA and other federal agencies, as well as to farmworker and community-based organizations.
7. The Food and Nutrition Delivery Safety Act ( S.3824 / H.R.8300)
Representative Angie Craig (D-MN) and Senator Fetterman introduced this legislation to require all SNAP-authorized retailers to pay fair wages and provide safe working conditions for employees who deliver essential goods to SNAP recipients. The bill also stipulates that the food being delivered must be safe and secure during delivery, and provides measures that make it easier for SNAP recipients to utilize the online grocery delivery service.
8. The Grocery, Farm, and Food Worker Stabilization Grant Program Act (S.3469 / H.R.6720)
To protect the food supply chain from disruptions during disasters, this bill will make the Farm and Food Workers Relief (FFWR) grant program permanent, allowing Congress to provide emergency funding to cover disaster-related costs for grocery, farm, and food workers. The FFWR program was initiated in 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a one-time grant program to help certain food workers cover pandemic-related costs. The bill was introduced by Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-IL) and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
9. Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act of 2023 (S.270 / H.R.798 )
Championed by Senator Booker and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), this bill strengthens health and safety standards for meatpacking workers, cracks down on monopolistic and anti-competitive practices by meatpacking corporations, and ensures workers have the right to speak out about labor abuses without fear of retaliation. Notably, the bill prevents the USDA from issuing line-speed waivers unless meat and poultry plants submit to an inspection and can demonstrate that an increase in line speeds will not adversely impact worker safety.
10. Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury and Fatality Prevention Act (S.2501/ H.R.4897)
Named after Asunción Valdivia, a farmworker who died from heat stroke after working 10 hours in 105°F heat, this legislation will ensure workers are protected from continued exposure to extreme heat by directing the DOL to establish a permanent federal standard for indoor and outdoor occupational exposure. Common-sense measures like providing workers with shade or climate-controlled spaces, water for hydration, and emergency response services in case of heat-related illness are also laid out in this bill, which was introduced by Representative Adams and Senator Brown.
These bills lay out common-sense protections that are stepping stones to achieving fair wages, improving working conditions, and providing more support for all food and farm workers. But with a new administration and Congress set to be sworn in 2025, there are concerns that these initiatives may not be a priority. Instead, many of these workers may be targeted in new immigration proposals that can upend our food system.
Despite this, we must demand Congress work to introduce and enact legislative protections for the millions of farm and food workers who face dangerous working conditions and exploitative practices. A healthy and equitable food system demands safe and dignified working conditions for all workers.
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