COVID-19
Farmworker Justice is collaborating with farmworker-serving organizations and many other organizations to help farmworker families confront the very serious challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Farmworkers are considered “essential workers,” risking their health to ensure that we have access to fruits and vegetables. Farmworkers face numerous challenges to protect themselves and their family members from COVID-19 due to their working and living conditions. FJ and our partners developed policy recommendations that we shared with Congress and the Administration to ensure farmworkers are able to adequately protect themselves in the fields and at home. FJ will continue to monitor developments.
FJ has also coordinated the distribution of face masks to farmworkers. Learn more about these efforts.
A compilation of COVID-19 resources is below.
General resources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Resources for workers
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Department of Labor
- Legal Aid of North Carolina, Farmworker Unit
- Maya Health Alliance Wuqu’ Kawoq
- Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project
- Rural Women’s Health Project
- University of Georgia Extension
- UFW Foundation
Resources for farmworker-serving organizations
- California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc.
- Environmental Working Group
- Farmworker Justice
- Farmworker Legal Services and Michigan Immigrant Rights Center
- Health Resources and Services Administration
- Health Center Resource Clearinghouse
- Migrant Clinicians Network
- National Association of Community Health Centers
- National Center for Farmworker Health
- U.S . Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
By State:
Arkansas
- Department of Health; Department of Agriculture
California
Colorado
- Department of Public Health & Environment
Kansas
- Department of Agriculture
Maine
- Department of Labor
Maryland
- Department of Agriculture
Massachusetts
- Department of Agricultural Resources
Michigan
- The Office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity; and Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- Emergency Rules; Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19); Issued 10/14/2020
New Jersey
- Departments of Health, Agriculture, and Labor & Workforce Development
New Mexico
- State of New Mexico
New York
- Department of Health & Department of Agriculture and Markets
- Department of Agriculture and Markets
- Department of Health, Department of Labor, and Department of Agriculture and Markets
- Office of the Governor
North Carolina
- North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
North Dakota
- Department of Agriculture
Oregon
- Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
Rhode Island
- Department of Environmental Management; Department of Environmental Health
Tennessee
- Department of Agriculture
Virginia
- Department of Labor and Industry
- Farmworker Justice
Washington
- Office of the Governor
- Department of Health
- Department of Labor & Industries
- Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center
Wisconsin
- Office of the Governor, and Department of Health Services
Farmworker Justice Policy Recommendations
- – Comments on the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Protection Emergency Regulation – November 18, 2020
- – Written comments on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Draft Preliminary Framework for Equitable Allocation of a COVID-19 Vaccine – September 4, 2020
- – As COVID-19 Cases Soar, Trump Administration Rejects Requests for Safety Protections for Farmworkers under H-2A Agricultural Guestworker Program – July 14,2020
- – Farmworker Justice Statement on Trump Administration Testimony by OSHA and NIOSH before the House Education and Labor Committee – May 28, 2020
- – Environmental Working Group and Farmworker Justice Statement: Congress Should Tap CCC Funds to Help Farmworkers – May 22, 2020
- – Farmworker Justice Statement on USDA-FDA MOU to Keep Farms & Packing Houses Running Despite Worker Illness from the Pandemic – May 20, 2020
- – Farmworker Justice Press Statement for EWG Press Call on Rep. Khanna and Sen. Warren’s Essential Workers Bill of Rights – April 30, 2020
- – Letter to Congress by Farmworker Justice and Other Organizations Advocating for Farmworkers Priorities in Next CARES Bill – April 22, 2020
- – Farmworker Advocates Seek Protections Against COVID-19 for Agricultural Guestworkers – March 25, 2020
- – Statement by Farmworker Advocates on COVID-19 and the Risks to Farmworkers – March 20, 2020
- – Unique Coalition Seeks Administration’s Support on Rural Health Care in COVID-19 Crisis – March 19, 2020
- – Farmworker Justice Statement: Our Dedication to Helping Farmworker Families Confront the Challenges of COVID-19 – March 17, 2020
- – The Promise of Telehealth: Increasing Access to Quality Healthcare in Rural America (2018; Joint report by Farmworker Justice, Campesinos Sin Fronteras, Vista Community Clinic, and the Harvard Law School Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation)