Authored by Silas Shawver, California Rural Legal Assistance

California’s farm workers have been engaged in many struggles to combat environmental injustice, such as the fight against pesticide use, struggles to apply environmental standards to the agricultural industry, and resistance to the siting of toxic waste dumps near farm worker communities. These struggles also take place in the workplace, where farm workers are particularly vulnerable to both man-made and natural environmental hazards.

If the environmental justice idea holds that a person’s economic status or race should not bear an influence on the person’s exposure to environmental hazards, then farm workers have a long struggle ahead of them. The laws regulating work hours in California are emblematic of the unfair position that farm workers are in. Although the California Labor Code establishes an eight hour day and forty hour week, farm labor is explicitly exempted. The work week for farm workers is 60 hours per week with no weekly overtime, which is 50% longer than that of other workers. That means 50% more exposure to environmental dangers than other workers with no weekly overtime pay. It is no coincidence that these workers who are singled out as farm workers, are virtually all people of color, and many with no legal right to vote.

The result of forcing farm workers to spend more hours working in what are already some of the most dangerous working conditions is sadly predictable. Farm workers die. Last summer alone, there were nine farm worker deaths due to heat exhaustion.

California Rural Legal Assistance (“CRLA”) has been working in our offices and in the fields to try and protect workers and help them protect themselves. Farm workers are not entirely without protection. Although subjected to longer work hours, there are health and safety regulations that require water, shade, breaks and training for farm workers who labor in the heat. Farm workers also have a general right to a safe work environment.

CRLA’s efforts have to get the most out of the limited legal protections afforded to farm workers; and thus have been somewhat unique. Recognizing that the state enforcement system is inadequate, CRLA negotiated a protocol with the California Division of Occupational Health & Safety (“Cal/OSHA”), whereby Cal/OSHA can issue citations and fines against employers based on evidence submitted by CRLA. CRLA’s clients and experience help us to be out in the fields where the work is happening. (For a copy of the written protocol, please email sshawver “at” crla “dot” org.)

CRLA also works with local community organizations and unions to provide training about the law and let people know how to identify violations and report them or get their employer to correct them. Working with community groups not only helps us spread awareness about the laws, it also puts more pressure on government to improve laws and enforce them more effectively, as these groups mobilize around the need to protect themselves and the members of their communities.

Because health and safety violations are so rampant, it is impossible to file lawsuits in every case. But in extreme cases, CRLA has successfully sought injunctive relief to get employers to provide water and take other measures to protect the health and safety of their workers.

The work that we have done has made a difference. CRLA’s health and safety work is an example of how legal advocacy can work when combined with community-based advocacy and effective relationships with regulatory agencies. Farm worker deaths are being taken more seriously and enforcement of the heat regulations is now more of a priority than ever before.  Nonetheless, this work will never succeed until farm workers can gain equal rights at the state and federal level, and gain a voice on the job to address health and safety issues without fear of retaliation. Hopefully, our work is helping to further these causes.