The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (AWPA/MSPA)is the principal federal employment law for farmworkers. While the law does not grant farmworkers the right to join labor unions or access to collective bargaining, it does contain some important protections.
Do migrant workers have rights?
What rights do immigrant workers have against discrimination in the workplace? All workers have the right to be free from unequal treatment in employment based on a personal characteristic or status, such as race or national origin, that is protected under anti-discrimination laws.
What is considered a migrant worker?
A migrant worker is a person who either migrates within their home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work.
Are migrant workers protected?
The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) protects migrant and seasonal agricultural workers by establishing employment standards related to wages, housing, transportation, disclosures and recordkeeping.
Do migrant workers have benefits?
5. As an undocumented worker, can I receive workers’ compensation benefits? Yes. All workers who are injured on the job, including undocumented workers, are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits in California to cover the cost of medical treatment and, in some cases, lost wages.
How much do migrant workers make in the US?
Today, migrant farm workers make, on average, just under $13 an hour, a rate that varies by region. By failing to conduct its traditional Agricultural Labor Survey, such workers could instead be paid just the minimum wage — in Georgia, Idaho, Iowa and other agricultural powerhouses, that’s as low as $7.25 an hour.
What makes a person a migrant?
Migrants might be defined by foreign birth, by foreign citizenship, or by their movement into a new country to stay temporarily (sometimes for as little as one month) or to settle for the long-term. … In some scholarly and everyday usage, people who move internally within national boundaries are called migrants.
Why do people want to be migrant workers?
Many countries rely on migrant workers to help them plug their labour shortfalls, while migrants’ remittances provide a vital source of finance and foreign exchange for households and governments in their countries of origin.
Why would a person who owns a farm hire migrant workers?
Companies also use this illegal labor to fill gaps in employment when they can’t find legal workers. … Agricultural companies will often hire a migrant worker simply because he or she has years of experience working the same type of job.
Who protects farm workers?
There are two agencies in California that protect workers’ rights: the Wage and Hour Division, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA – Cal/ OSHA in California).
What is the minimum wage for migrant farm workers?
The wage change, which the administration hasn’t yet formally proposed, would effectively cut the minimum wage for migrant farmworkers to $8.34 an hour, 15% above the federal minimum wage. That would amount to a cut of around $2 to $5 per hour from current wage rates, which vary by state.
What do migrant farm workers do?
The term “migrant farmworker” includes people working temporarily or seasonally in farm fields, orchards, canneries, plant nurseries, fish/seafood packing plants, and more. Guest workers who temporarily live in the US through the federal H2A program to work on farms are also migrant farmworkers.
How many hours do migrant workers work?
USDA’s Agricultural Labor Survey and the NAWS suggest that most California farm workers are employed between 43 and 45 hours a week. Three types of workers, livestock (dairy) workers, irrigators, and equipment operators, often work more than 40 hours a week, with some regularly exceeding 60 hours.
What is the most common job for immigrants?
Construction laborers occupy the top spot among immigrant workers (26 percent) and the third spot for native workers (11 percent). Construction managers and carpenters are also among the most common occupations for both native-born and foreign-born workers in this sector.
What is the minimum pay rate?
The National Minimum Wage applies to employees not covered by an award or registered agreement. This is the minimum pay rate provided by the Fair Work Act 2009 and is reviewed each year. As of 1 July 2021 the national minimum wage is $20.33 per hour or $772.60 per week.