When Vulnerability and Lax Enforcement Combine in H-2A
As the use of H-2A visas continues to accelerate, the abuses and violations hidden within this program are receiving more light as well. Media outlets recently released investigative work on Idaho-based sheep farmers in slavery-like conditions, workers in North Carolina who died in after their dilapidated employer-provided housing broke out in flames, and Missouri workers […]
Rain, Rain Go Away: We only want to pick apples on Saturdays
Diversifying into agritourism is a time-tested strategy to generate additional revenue while hedging against downswings in agricultural product prices. But, farmers can’t easily insure against the risk of rainy weather keeping seasonal customers away. They can insure against price drops, which further reinforces the commodity structure of agriculture. Farmers in the northeast are forced to […]
Farm Commons: Request for Proposal Website Maintenance
Invitation to Propose Farm Commons invites qualified professional website design and support companies or individual(s) to submit a proposal in accordance with this Request For Proposal (RFP) for Website Maintenance Services for its organizational needs. We request that proposals adhere to the format and content of this RFP. Farm Commons’ goal in issuing this RFP […]
Year to Date: A Review of Selected Farm Labor Violations
Over the past six months, the Department of Justice charged farms nationwide with countless farm labor violations, and according to a 2020 article by The Counter, “70% of farm labor investigations end in violations.” But we are here to help you manage your risk and gain peace of mind. From knowing what breaks are required […]
Discrimination On Farm Leads to a Multi-Million Dollar Settlement
A Washington-based mushroom farm recently agreed to pay $3.4 million to settle discrimination claims against them. The farm had systematically rooted out a majority of their female domestic workforce and replaced them with male H-2A workers. The company’s tactics led to a civil rights lawsuit double-whammy: the Washington Attorney General filed a complaint against them […]
Open Farm Employment Law Week
You deserve easy-to-understand farm law solutions. Are you wondering if it is legal for your for-profit farm or ranch to have volunteers? Or maybe you want to know if you can pay your employees with housing, bacon, or broccoli. No matter what your farm employment law question is, you deserve easy-to-understand farm law solutions. Our […]
New Overtime Rules Bring More Complexity to Farm Labor Calculations
“Especially in California, with the labor laws, you can’t have pickers work more than eight hours a day,” a professional from a tech startup that builds flying robot apple harvesters recently quipped to Forbes magazine. Of course, this isn’t exactly true. Human workers can pick for more than eight hours a day in […]
Shopping for farm property insurance in California just got harder. Are other states next?
Last month, the insurance company State Farm announced it would no longer issue new property insurance policies for residential or commercial customers in California. This decision has immediate implications for California farmers, many of whom need real solutions for this season. It also portends future issues for farmers in getting the necessary insurance coverage to […]
Fishers diversify, face same business law complications as farmers, when disaster strikes
After drought conditions, record-low numbers of salmon are expected to return to California rivers to spawn this year, prompting the Pacific Fishery Management Council to cancel the 2023 season off the California coast. Now, an entire industry valued at $1.4 billion that supports 23,000 jobs is looking to other revenue streams. We explain how fishermen […]
How a Farmer’s Arrest for Selling Milk Inspired New Laws on the Practice of Medicine
Herb C. Saunders, a dairy farmer from Odin, Minnesota, was arrested in 1993 for three charges related to selling colostrum milk and herbs to customers, many of whom were sick and had sought out Herb\’s products in hopes it would improve their health. After three years and two hung juries, prosecutors dismissed all […]