{"id":75671,"date":"2025-09-25T11:44:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T18:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=75671"},"modified":"2025-09-25T11:44:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T18:44:45","slug":"during-national-farm-safety-and-health-week-california-reaffirms-its-commitment-to-farmworkers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=75671","title":{"rendered":"During National Farm Safety and Health Week, California reaffirms its commitment to farmworkers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
SACRAMENTO\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013\u00a0This week, the Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) joins the nation in observing National Farm Safety and Health Week, a tradition dating back to 1944\u00a0when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt first proclaimed<\/a><\/u>\u00a0it to acknowledge the role of agriculture in Americans\u2019 daily lives and the hazardous nature of the industry that sustains the country.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\u201cFarmworkers feed California and the nation. During Governor Newsom\u2019s tenure, our state has taken practical, worker-centered steps to strengthen organizing rights, expand paid leave, enforce heat and smoke protections, and better inform farmworkers of their rights which apply regardless of immigration status,\u201d\u00a0said Stewart Knox, Secretary of the Labor & Workforce Development Agency.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThese actions reflect the Governor\u2019s commitment to dignity, safety, and economic security for farmworkers and their families.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Farmworkers are a part of California\u2019s story and identity. From Northern to Southern California, including the Imperial Valley\u00a0and Central Valley in between, the people who plant, harvest, and process food for the nation and the world are an essential part of the state\u2019s economy and culture.<\/p>\n

New Law Expands Wage Protections<\/strong><\/p>\n

In July, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 846, strengthening protections for farmworkers. The new law modernizes a nearly 50-year-old farmworker lien statute by removing an old restriction that applied only to farms owned as limited partnerships. Under the new law, which takes effect on January 1, 2026, farmworkers will be able to recoup up to two weeks of unpaid wages. The change aims to reduce wage theft and provide farmworkers with a practical tool for reclaiming owed wages.<\/p>\n

Ensuring Access to Critical Protections<\/strong><\/p>\n

In response to the tragic shooting of farmworkers at Half Moon Bay in 2023, Secretary Knox instructed LWDA to develop and launch the Rural Strategic Engagement Plan (RSEP) to better serve farmworkers through improved intra-agency coordination and innovated service delivery.<\/p>\n

The state invested $30 million dollars to fund RSEP over three years. The Agricultural Labor Relations Board received RSEP funding to develop a cross-training curriculum for all LWDA staff that serve farmworkers, strengthening joint enforcement efforts, and improving data sharing and referral systems together with Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)\u00a0 and Employment Development Department staff to improve the workers experience with the state by ensuring that\u00a0workers can access all LWDA services regardless of which agency they contact first.<\/p>\n

This month, LWDA held the\u00a0first of these RSEP cross-trainings<\/a><\/u>\u00a0to educate over 200 field staff from the Agency\u2019s departments, boards, and panels.<\/p>\n

Additionally, DIR has funded seven organizations that will host informational clinics in farmworker communities where workers can directly access all departments and services under LWDA. This effort builds on the Labor Commissioner\u2019s Office innovative and successful partnerships with organizations that serve farmworkers throughout the state.<\/p>\n

Education and Safety<\/strong><\/p>\n

California launched the Statewide Agriculture and Farmworker Education (SAFE) Program, collaborating with the UC Davis Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety to bring information and guidance to workers and employers. Through SAFE and the California Workplace Outreach Project (CWOP), the state has invested over $30 million dollars in organizations that conduct outreach directly to agricultural workers and employers.<\/p>\n

“With the support of the LWDA, SAFE has been able to directly engage with more than 1.4 million farmworkers, employers, and CBOs across California since 2020,”\u00a0said Heather Riden, Program Director for the SAFE Program at the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, UC Davis<\/strong>. “This funding has been essential in allowing us to provide trainings, outreach, and resources\u2014including Campo Seguro, a multilingual website specifically developed to support farmworkers with clear, accessible information on workplace safety and labor protections. SAFE helps workers understand their rights and stay safe on the job, while supporting employers and local organizations to create safer, more informed workplaces. Together, these efforts make a tangible difference in communities across the state.”<\/p>\n

\u201cHa sido muy crucial tener el apoyo de LWDA durante estos 5 a\u00f1os, empezando en 2020 con el covid-19,\u201d\u00a0said Juvenal Solano, Director of Community Organizing, Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project<\/strong>. \u201cGracias a este apoyo hemos podido alcanzar a miles de trabajadores agr\u00edcolas ind\u00edgenas en la costa central de California para informarles sobre sus derechos laborales y de salud. Programas como estos son vitales para que nuestra comunidad trabajadora agr\u00edcola salga de la sombra y pueda exigir el respeto y derecho que merecen como seres humanos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strengthening Workplace Protections<\/strong><\/p>\n

California has led the nation with the strongest workplace protections for agricultural workers, including:<\/p>\n