As Western Growers marks its 100th year, I find myself approaching a milestone of my own—23 years representing the fresh produce industry. When I arrived in May 2003, I could not have imagined how dramatically the legal and regulatory landscape would evolve, nor how often we would find ourselves navigating uncharted territory.
Looking back, certain themes remain constant: labor shortages, immigration policy gridlock, regulatory expansion, litigation risk and the ongoing tension between Sacramento, Washington, D.C., and the realities of farming. What has changed is not the existence of these challenges, but their intensity, complexity and the stakes for growers.
The Constant: Labor Supply and Immigration
Long before I arrived at Western Growers, the association was already engaged in the effort to align federal immigration policy with the realities of agriculture. Western Growers supported the agricultural compromise embedded in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, including the Special Agricultural Worker (SAW) program, recognizing that a stable workforce required bringing experienced farmworkers out of the shadows. That same principle has guided our advocacy ever since: agriculture is different, and it requires solutions that reflect the seasonal, labor-intensive nature of growing fresh produce.
When I joined Western Growers in 2003, that work was front and center. We were heavily engaged in the push for AgJOBS, which paired earned legalization with a workable guestworker program. While AgJOBS ultimately fell short, it established the framework for every serious agricultural labor proposal that followed. That framework carried into the Senate’s bipartisan immigration bill in 2013, S. 744, where Western Growers led and helped shape agriculture-specific provisions balancing enforcement, legalization and a reformed guestworker system.
More recently, that same effort has continued with the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. The core elements remain familiar: a path to legal status for the existing workforce and meaningful reforms to the H-2A program to make it more usable and reliable for growers. Despite bipartisan support and repeated House passage, the bill has yet to reach the finish line. For decades, there has been general agreement on what agriculture needs. The challenge has been getting it across the line.
In the meantime, the industry has adapted. The H-2A program, once viewed as a last resort, has become a central pillar of the agricultural workforce. It remains complex and costly, but for many operations, it is no longer optional. Recent adjustments to wage calculations and wage reductions in exchange for providing housing have offered some relief, but the broader issue of agricultural labor reform remains unresolved.
For more than two decades, our work in this space has centered on one objective: a legal, stable and experienced workforce. That objective remains as urgent today as ever.
The Rise of Wage and Hour Complexity
If immigration has been a constant challenge, wage and hour law has been the fastest-moving target.
When I began, compliance was important, but manageable. That changed in the early 2010s with the surge of piece-rate litigation. Court decisions requiring separate compensation for nonproductive time and rest breaks upended long-standing practices and created immediate exposure across the industry.
The result was a wave of class actions seeking significant damages for practices that had been widely understood as lawful. Western Growers worked closely with the Legislature on AB 1513, which created a “safe harbor” allowing employers to correct past practices. It was a pragmatic solution, but not an easy one, requiring substantial back payments and administrative effort.
That period was followed by AB 1066 and the phase-in of agricultural overtime, permanently altering the industry’s historical framework.
Layered on top of these developments was the rapid expansion of representative litigation under the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). What began as a novel enforcement mechanism quickly became a primary driver of wage and hour risk, often targeting technical violations with outsized penalties. Today, agricultural employers in California operate under one of the most complex wage and hour systems in the country, where even minor missteps can carry significant consequences.
Recent PAGA reforms championed by Western Growers and coalition allies offer a measure of relief. By narrowing claims to violations personally experienced, reducing penalties for less serious violations and incentivizing proactive compliance, the Legislature has taken steps to recalibrate the system. It is not a complete fix, but it reflects a growing recognition that the balance had shifted too far.
Labor Relations: A Changing Landscape
Labor relations in agriculture have moved through distinct cycles.
The passage of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975 fundamentally reshaped the landscape, formalizing collective bargaining rights and ushering in an era of intense organizing activity led by the United Farm Workers. Western Growers was deeply engaged during this period. Its team of attorneys, including Ron Barsamian, Rob Roy, Terry O’Connor, Jim Bogart and many other prominent legal professionals who began their careers at Western Growers, frequently represented clients before the Agricultural Labor Relations Board. They skillfully managed representation elections, addressed unfair labor practice allegations and handled the complexities of collective bargaining under a newly established and evolving statute.
Those were high-stakes years, with frequent conflict and uncertainty, as both growers and labor organizations tested the boundaries of the law.
What followed was a long period of relative quiet. Union activity declined, elections became less frequent and labor relations issues receded from the forefront for many growers. Attention shifted toward compliance with wage and hour laws, safety regulations and the growing complexity of employment law more broadly.
That dynamic has shifted again. Recent statutory changes, including majority support petitions (“card check”), have brought renewed organizing activity and related litigation. Once again, familiar questions are emerging around due process, fairness and how these systems function in practice for agricultural employers.
The issues may look different than they did in the 1970s, but the underlying challenge remains the same: ensuring that the system works in a way that respects workers’ rights while allowing growers to operate and sustain their businesses.
Workplace Regulation: Expanding Expectations
Alongside these developments, workplace regulation has steadily expanded, with California often leading the way.
Heat illness prevention stands out as one of the most consequential examples. California adopted the nation’s first outdoor heat illness prevention standard, and Western Growers played an active role in helping shape that framework. From the beginning, the focus was on ensuring that the rules were both protective and workable in real-world agricultural settings.
Over time, what began as a general safety standard has evolved into a detailed and highly prescriptive regime, with requirements tied to temperature thresholds, written procedures, training and documentation. More recently, attention has shifted to indoor heat, introducing new challenges for packing and processing operations. Through each phase, Western Growers has continued to advocate for practical, science-based standards that can be implemented in the field and in practice.
Heat illness is only part of the story. Cal/OSHA enforcement has expanded, and new rules have added layers of compliance. COVID-19 standards required rapid, real-time operational changes across housing, transportation and worksites. Wildfire smoke regulations introduced monitoring and response obligations tied to changing air quality conditions.
At the same time, broader employment laws continue to evolve, including paid sick leave, leave of absence requirements and accommodation obligations. In many cases, Western Growers has worked to shape these measures before they are enacted and to provide guidance once they take effect.
Litigation Trends
As regulation has expanded, litigation has followed.
Wage and hour class actions remain a primary source of risk, but they now cover an increasingly broad range of issues. Employers now face claims across a wide range of areas, including rest and recovery periods, meal break compliance, wage statements and off-the-clock work.
Disability discrimination and accommodation claims have become more frequent and more complex, requiring careful, individualized analysis. In the workers’ compensation system, continuous trauma claims have added another layer of exposure, particularly in labor-intensive operations.
Another notable shift is the use of litigation as a policy tool. Advocacy organizations and public agencies are increasingly using the courts to advance broader regulatory objectives. For example, an emerging trend is the increase in California’s Proposition 65 notices directed at fresh produce, with claims focused on naturally occurring heavy metals like cadmium and efforts to impose warning label requirements on raw agricultural commodities.
For growers, this means litigation risk is no longer confined to individual disputes, but can shape the operating environment more broadly.
Looking Ahead
If there is one takeaway from the past century, and my time at Western Growers, it is that these issues rarely arrive in isolation. Legislation, regulation and litigation are no longer separate tracks. They intersect, compound and often amplify one another.
Western Growers has been at the center of that intersection, working to shape policy where possible, to challenge it where necessary, and to help members navigate it in real time. That role has not changed, even as the complexity has increased.
The path forward will not be simpler. But if the past is any guide, progress will continue to come in increments, shaped by persistence, practical engagement and a clear understanding of what agriculture needs to remain viable.
It has been a privilege to represent family farmers for nearly a quarter century, and I remain committed to helping our members face the challenges ahead.
