Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Research at NIOSH Reviews of Research Programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (2008) / Chapter Skim
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F: Policies and Regulations Affecting the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Workforce
F: Policies and Regulations Affecting the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Workforce
Pages 317-325
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From page 317... ...
sector presents a distinctly difficult set of circumstances for making such determinations. This appendix describes the legal framework within which NIOSH research informs policy discourse in law and regulation, then reviews and evaluates NIOSH contributions to policy and regulation, and finally offers suggestions for new policy-oriented research initiatives.
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From page 318... ...
workers to engage in concerted action on their own behalf through organizations of their choosing, does not apply to any person employed as a hired farm laborer. Federal governance of workplace conditions was first delineated by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA, 29 USC 201-219)
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From page 319... ...
STATUTORY EXEMPTIONS OF CHILD LABOR FROM THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT Despite the clear delineation of which farms are subject to federal regulation, there are numerous additional statutory exemptions of various categories of hired farm workers from the protections of the FLSA (DOL, 2007a)
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From page 320... ...
• Local minors 10 and 11 years old may work outside school hours under prescribed conditions to hand-harvest crops with short harvesting seasons for not more than 8 weeks from June 1 to October 15 on approval by the Secretary of Labor of an employer's application for a waiver from the child labor provisions for employment of such children. As described in a special report on child labor in agriculture prepared by the General Accounting Office (GAO, now the Government Accountability Office)
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From page 321... ...
But only farm operators who used 500 worker-days or more of agricultural labor during any calendar quarter of the preceding calendar year are subject to the federal minimum wage provision unless their employees are otherwise explicitly excluded by statute. Examples of additional hired workers statutorily excluded from federal minimum wage protection include • Local hand-harvest workers who are paid a piece rate and who worked fewer than 13 weeks in agriculture during the preceding calendar year.
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From page 322... ...
And California's state minimum wage, $7.50 per hour at this writing and scheduled to increase to $8.00 per hour on January 1, 2008, is applicable to all hired workers, including those employed on farms. In contrast, California law regarding overtime pay in agriculture, although stricter than the federal provision excluding farm laborers, specifies compensation at 1.5 times the regular pay rate only on the seventh day after six consecutive 10 hour days of work.
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From page 323... ...
The evidence package states, "OSHA lacks authority for most of the agricultural workforce since much of that workforce is self-employed or consists of unpaid family labor, and OSHA is restricted from inspecting farms that employ fewer than 11 workers at those worksites." But FLSA statutory exemptions govern child labor on all farms, not only those on small farms. In some important farm states, such as California, OSHA has delegated regulatory authority to a state agency, in this case Cal/OSHA, which under state law authorizes inspections on all farms that employ hired workers, not only those employing more than 10 workers.
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From page 324... ...
The entire industry is also subject to regulation under the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act of 1988 (CFIVSA, 46 USC Chapter 45) , the first federal safety law to address the numerous occupational hazards in that industry. The U.S.
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From page 325... ...
. Also statutorily exempt from the FLSA minimum wage requirement is "any employee employed in the catching, taking, propagating, harvesting, cultivating, or farming of any kind of fish, shellfish, crustacea, sponges, seaweeds, or other aquatic forms of animal and vegetable life, or in the first processing, canning or packing such marine products at sea as an incident to, or in conjunction with, such fishing operations, including the going to and returning from work and loading and unloading when performed by any such employee . . . "11 Forestry industry workers are subject to the OSHA act12 and the FLSA.
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