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California Appellate Court Rules Bees are Protected “Fish”

A California Court of Appeal has ruled that bumblebees are eligible for protection as threatened or endangered “fish” under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). The opinion reversed the trial court’s ruling in favor of Western Growers and six other agricultural groups. The trial court had concluded that the CESA, which extends to fish, mammals, birds, ...

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Court of Appeal Rules in Favor of FLC and WG Member Growers in Waiting Time Penalties Case

[Updated: See Editor’s note below] On Thursday, August 12, 2021, the California Court of Appeal issued its opinion in Jamie Zepeda Labor Contracting v. Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, a case which had the potential to upset longstanding pay practices in the agricultural industry and expand the ability of the California ...

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CDC Issues New Guidance for H-2A Workers

The CDC has released new guidance for H-2A workers about how they may protect themselves from COVID-19. The page also has links to resources related specifically to the COVID-19 vaccination.

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Colorado Labor Department Issues Guidance on Ag Labor Rules in Spanish

The Colorado Department of Labor & Employment’s (CDLE) Division of Labor Standards and Statistics has issued interpretive guidance, or “Fact Sheets” on Colorado labor laws and rules, including a summary of the requirements of the Agricultural Labor Rights & Responsibilities Act (ALRRA).  These updates can be found under INFO #12 in English,  and are now ...

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DOL Takes Step Toward New H-2A Wage Rule

According to Bloomberg Law, the U.S. Department of Labor has asked the White House to review a proposed rule that would revise the methodology by which it determines the Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) paid to H-2A farmworkers. Last December, a judge blocked the Trump Administration’s attempt to revise the AEWR methodology, agreeing with organized labor groups’ ...

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Supreme Court’s PAGA Victory for Employers in Viking River Cruises May Be Short Lived

On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which allows employees to sue their employer on behalf of the state and seek monetary penalties on behalf of other employees, does not permit them to sidestep arbitration agreements which require such individual actions be brought in an ...

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IRS Raises Mileage Rate for Rest of 2022

On June 9, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service issued an announcement, increasing the optional standard mileage rate – used to deduct eligible business trips in a vehicle on tax returns – for the final six months of 2022 from 58.5 cents per mile to 62.5 cents per mile. The new rate will be effective beginning ...

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DOL Announces Public Forums on Independent Contractor Regulations

On June 3, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced that it is reviewing regulations addressing the distinction between an employee and an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Independent contractors are not guaranteed the federal minimum wage and overtime pay that covered employees receive under the FLSA. DOL published a…

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Colorado Ag Groups File Suit Against Worksite Access Provisions in SB21-087

Colorado agriculture groups, including Western Growers’ strategic partner, Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association, last week filed a lawsuit on behalf of farmers and ranchers who claim the provision granting access to key service providers in SB21-087 (Ag Labor Rights & Responsibilities Act) could adversely affect their operations and is not constitutional. The suit was ...

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SCOTUS Denies Review of Truckers’ AB 5 Appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday declined to review the appeal of the California Trucking Association’s (CTA’s) challenge to California’s independent contractor law, AB 5. Now that the petition for certiorari (review) has been denied, an order to lift the preliminary injunction which has been in place for 2 ½ years preventing the enforcement of ...

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Labor Commissioner Sends Warning Letter to All FLCs

The California Labor Commissioner recently sent a letter to all California-licensed farm labor contractors advising that the Department of Industrial Relations has received multiple complaints regarding FLCs failing to comply with California’s 2022 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave law (“2022 SPSL”). According to the letter, employees are being told they must work a minimum length of ...

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USCIS’ Pandemic Signature Policy is Now Permanent

On July 25, 2022, USCIS announced that it will continue accepting copies of original signatures on all forms and documents. This makes permanent the temporary signature policy that USCIS announced in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  This impacts H-2A and H-2A users, and anyone who submits forms to USCIS. USCIS will accept copies of original signatures…

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ALRB Assesses Civil Penalties for Willful Misclassification of Workers

On July 28th, the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) issued a decision that, for the first time, assesses civil penalties against an employer that fired a group of farmworkers it misclassified as independent contractors. In 2017, Marisol Jimenez, a farmworker employed with Cinagro Farms, filed a complaint with the ALRB alleging that his work crew ...

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California Supreme Court to Review PAGA in light of Viking River

As we previously reported, the United States Supreme Court in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, delivered a victory for California employers, albeit one that may be short lived. The high court held that employers can compel arbitration of a plaintiff’s “individual claim” under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA), resulting in the remaining “collective…

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CDC Loosens its COVID-19 Guidance

On August 11th, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) relaxed its Covid-19 recommendations, which rescinds and alters a number of key recommendations, including treating unvaccinated and vaccinated people differently for many purposes, explicitly stating that people with previous infection have protection against severe illness, and dropping six-foot social distancing standard. The shift in…

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NLRB Proposes New Rule to Define Joint-Employer Status More Broadly

On Sept. 7, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would change the standard for when two employers who do business together are considered to be joint employers and thus liable for the other’s unfair labor practices. The proposed rule would replace a 2020 NLRB rule that deemed an ...

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Cal/OSHA Standards Board to Extend COVID-19 Regulations

The Cal/OSHA Standards Board is looking to extend its COVID-19 regulation once again. Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), which was first adopted November 2020, is set to expire after December 31, 2022.  The Cal/OSHA Standards Board has now published, and is expected to enact, a semi-permanent rule that would replace the ETS. It is scheduled to ...

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California Supreme Court Denies Review of an Appeal of Appellate Court Ruling That Bees are “Fish”

The California Supreme Court has denied a review of an appeal of a California Court of Appeal ruling from this summer that bumblebees are eligible for protection as threatened or endangered “fish” under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). The decision could complicate ongoing efforts to manage farmland to protect wildlife and feed the nation ...

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California Supplemental Paid Sick Leave Extended To Dec. 31, 2022

Correction: A previous version of this article erroneously stated in the title that SPSL was extended through 2023. AB 152 extends SPSL through Dec. 31, 2022.   Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 152 extending COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (SPSL) through the end of 2022. The bill will also provide relief to small businesses ...

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Arizona’s Minimum Wage to Rise in 2023

Arizona’s minimum wage will rise to $13.85 an hour, up from $12.80 an hour, starting Jan. 1, 2023. Annual increases are mandated by Proposition 206, which Arizonans approved in 2016. That ballot measure steadily bumped up the minimum wage from $8.05 an hour in 2016 to $12 an hour by Jan. 1, 2020. The state’s ...

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