ALABAMA - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

Alabama state law does not define agricultural worker but it does define “agricultural
operations” (at ALA. CODE § 2-3A-2) Elsewhere, the Alabama code refers to an agricultural worker as a “farm laborer” and an agricultural employer as a “farm-labor employer.” (See ALA. CODE § 25-5-50 (Workers Compensation Statute, Applicability)). These terms are not defined, but have been subject to judicial interpretation. (See, e.g., JWM, Inc. v. Raines, 779 So.2d 247 (Ala. App. Ct. 2000))

Wages and Overtime

Minimum Wage

Alabama does not have a state minimum wage law. Note: Alabama has a state law preempting local governments from adopting minimum wages above the federal minimum wage. Ala. Code § 25-7-42.

Overtime

Alabama does not have a state law regarding overtime pay.

State Enforcement Agency

Federal Enforcement Agency:
U.S. Department of Labor – Alabama Offices 

Website: https://www.dol.gov/whd/local/index.htm#stateDetails
Relevant Forms: https://www.dol.gov/whd/howtofilecomplaint.htm

Occupational Safety and Health

Workers’ Compensation

Alabama does not require agricultural employers to provide workers’ compensation coverage to their employees, though they may elect to do so. (ALA. CODE § 25-5-50)

State Enforcement Agency:
Alabama Department of Labor

Website: https://www.labor.alabama.gov/wc/workers-compensation.aspx 
Relevant Forms: https://labor.alabama.gov/wc/benefits.aspx

Field Sanitation

Alabama does not have a state law regarding field sanitation. 

Federal Enforcement Agency:
US Department of Labor, OSHA

Website: https://www.osha.gov/contactus/bystate/AL/areaoffice

Pesticide Safety

• Alabama has a state law regarding pesticide safety in agriculture. (Code of Ala. 1975, §§2-27-8, 2-27-57; Admin Code Chap 80-1-13.)
• Suspected pesticide poisoning is not a required reportable illness for health care providers.
• State Enforcement Agency:
• Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries
• Website: http://www.agi.alabama.gov/divisions/pesticide-management/worker-protection-standard 

Right to Join Unions and Collective Bargaining in Agriculture

• There is no provision (or judicial interpretation of a provision) in the state constitution that expressly grants agricultural workers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation or to engage in collective bargaining with their employers.
• There is no state statute that expressly grants agricultural workers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation (such as being fired, demoted or disciplined) or to engage in collective bargaining with agricultural employers.
• However, agricultural workers are not expressly excluded from Alabama’s laws governing union activities.  (ALA. CODE § 25-7-6)
• Alabama is a ‘right to work’ state (ALA. CODE§§ 25-7-1, 25-7-30), meaning no person can be compelled to join a union as a condition of employment or be required to pay union dues. 

State Legal Services Organizations

Southern Migrant Legal Services – A Project of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc.
https://www.trla.org/southern-migrant-legal-services-smls

Southern Poverty Law Center- Immigrant Justice Project
https://www.splcenter.org/issues/immigrant-justice