State and Federal Laws that Apply to Farm Labor

This section is intended to provide accurate and timely information on some, but not all the issues regarding farm labor. As time passes, some of this information may no longer be accurate, and the reader is cautioned to be aware of that. The material is not intended to provide legal, accounting, or other professional advice and should not be relied upon as such or as a substitute for such advice. Growers who desire such advice should seek independent professional counsel before acting on any information contained in this section.

Migrant and Seasonal Worker Considerations

Federal Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act (MSPA)

The MSPA is intended to supplement state law. Compliance with it does not excuse any person from complying with appropriate state law and regulation.

Who must comply?

Agricultural employers. An "agricultural employer" is any person who owns or operates a farm, ranch, processing establishment, cannery, gin, packing shed, or nursery, or who produces or conditions seed, and who either recruits, hires, employs, furnishes, or transports any migrant or seasonal agricultural worker.
Farm labor contractors. A "farm labor contractor" is any person, other than an agricultural employer, an agricultural association, or an employee of an agricultural employer or agricultural association, who, for money or other valuable consideration, performs any farm labor contracting activity, such as recruiting, soliciting, hiring, employing, furnishing, or transporting any migrant or seasonal agricultural worker.

The factors to be considered in determining whether an employer should be jointly responsible with the farm labor contractor are:

whether the agricultural employer has the power, either alone or through control of the farm labor contractor, to direct, control, or supervise the worker(s) or the work performed.
whether the agricultural employer has the power, either alone or in addition to another employer, directly or indirectly, to hire or fire, modify the employment conditions, or determine the pay rates or the methods of wage payment for the worker(s).
the degree of permanency and duration of the relationship of the parties, in the context of the agricultural activity at issue.
the extent to which the services rendered by the worker(s) are repetitive, rote tasks requiring skills acquired with relatively little training.
whether the activities performed by the worker(s) are an integral part of the overall business operation of the agricultural employer.
whether the work is performed on the agricultural employer's premises, rather than on the premises owned or controlled by another business entity.
whether the agricultural employer undertakes responsibilities in relation to the worker(s) which are commonly performed by employers, such as preparing and/or making payroll records, preparing and/or issuing pay checks, paying FICA taxes, providing workers' compensation insurance, providing field sanitation facilities, housing or transportation, or providing tools and equipment or materials required for the job (taking into account the amount of investment.

Key terms and what they mean
A "migrant agricultural worker" is an individual employed in agriculture on a seasonal or other temporary basis, and who is required to be absent overnight from his or her permanent place of residence. NOTE: This term does not include members of the immediate family of a farm labor contractor or an agricultural employer, or temporary nonimmigrant H-2a alien workers.

A "seasonal agricultural worker" is an individual employed in agriculture on a seasonal or temporary basis and who is not required to be absent overnight from his or her permanent place of residence when employed on a farm or ranch in performing field work related to planting, cultivating, or harvesting operations or when employed in canning, packing, ginning, seed conditioning, or related research, or processing operations, and who is transported or caused to be transported to or from the place of employment by means of a day-haul operation (pick-up and return on the same day). NOTE: This term does not include any migrant agricultural worker; any immediate family member of an agricultural employer or farm labor contractor; or temporary nonimmigrant agricultural H-2a alien workers.

Who is exempt?

Family businesses. The act is not applicable to an individual who engages in farm labor contracting activities on behalf of a farm owned or operated by that person or an immediate family member, if the activities are performed only for such operation and exclusively by such individual or an immediate family member.
Small businesses. The act is not applicable to an employer who employs agricultural labor less than 500 worker-days in each calendar quarter of the preceding calendar year. This is the same standard as the Fair Labor Standards Act exemption from federal minimum wage requirements.
A person whose labor-contracting activities are conducted within a 25-mile radius of the person's permanent residence and for not more than 13 weeks per year.
Common carriers whose only connection with agriculture is the transport of migrant or seasonal agricultural workers.
Nonprofit charitable organizations and public and private educational institutions.
Custom combining, hay-harvesting, or sheep-shearing operations.
Custom poultry-harvesting, breeding, debeaking, desexing, or health-service operations.
Some students serving apprenticeships and some employees of seed and tobacco producers.

What does the act require?

Farm labor contractors must have a certificate of registration.
Agricultural employers must confirm that the farm labor contractor is registered.
Farm labor contractors, agricultural employers, and agricultural associations that recruit migrant and/or seasonal agricultural workers must disclose the following information to such workers:
1. place of employment;
2. wage rates to be paid;
3. crops and kinds of work activity on which worker may be employed
4. period of employment;
5. transportation, housing, and other employee benefits to be provided, and cost, if any;
6. existence of any strike or other work stoppage, slowdown, or other work interruption at the place of employment;
7. any arrangement with the owner or agent of an establishment under which the contractor, employer, or association is to receive a commission or any other benefit resulting from sales to the workers; and
8. whether state workers' compensation insurance is provided, and, if so
  1. the name of the state workers' compensation insurance carrier;
  2. the name of the policyholder of such insurance;
  3. the name and the telephone number of each person who must be notified of an injury or death; and
  4. the time period within which such notice must be given.

Compliance with this item may be met if the worker is given a photocopy of any notice regarding workers' compensation insurance required by law of the state in which the worker is employed. The worker must be given the disclosure at the time of recruitment or, if sufficient information is unavailable at that time, at the earliest practicable time, but no later than the commencement of work.

Farm labor contractors, agricultural employers, and agricultural associations that recruit migrant agricultural workers must post the above information in English, Spanish, or another language common to the workers.
Those who own or control facilities used to house migrant workers are responsible for having these facilities meet federal and state safety and health standards. For further details, see material on Migrant Labor Housing (below).
Each farm labor contractor, agricultural employer, or agricultural association that recruits migrant agricultural workers must maintain for 3 years those records dealing with:
1. the basis for wages paid;
2. piece work units earned;
3. sums withheld and purpose of withholding;
4. number of hours worked;
5. total pay period earnings; and
6. net pay.
When using any vehicle to provide transportation, each farm labor contractor, agricultural employer, and agricultural association that recruits migrant workers must ensure

that the vehicle conforms to federal and state safety standards;
that drivers are validly licensed; and
that an insurance policy or liability bond in the minimum amount of $100,000 per seat in the vehicle (the total amount required is not more than $5,000,000) is in force to cover property damage and personal injury.

Use of machinery and equipment while actually engaged in planting, harvesting, etc. is exempt from this requirement.

NOTE: The required level of insurance is that required of a common carrier under federal law, but if a contractor, employer, or association maintains workers' compensation coverage for its workers and this coverage includes transporting workers, then no additional insurance is necessary and the workers' compensation policy may meet the insurance requirement. This decision requires a thorough review of the existing policy with an insurance adviser.

For more information contact any regional office of the U.S. Department of Labor:

Wage and Hour Division
U.S. Custom House
Room 402
Second and Chestnut Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: (215) 597-4950

Wage and Hour Division
Federal Building, Room 313
1000 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: (412) 395-4996

Wage and Hour Division
Stegmaier Building, Suite 373M
N. Wilkes-Barre Boulevard
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702
(717) 826-6316