Department of Labor Settles Farmworker Lawsuit
Washington D.C. – The Department of Labor (DOL) has reached a settlement in litigation over its enforcement activities on behalf of farmworkers. Public Citizen Litigation Group represented six farmworker organizations that sued DOL earlier this year for failure to abide by regulations mandating that the agency coordinate its enforcement of statutes designed to protect farmworkers.
The settlement, entered today as an order of the court, requires DOL to (1) establish and maintain a National Committee that will meet twice annually and guide DOL components on enforcement related to farmworkers, (2) establish a National Committee staff level working group that will meet at least quarterly, (3) establish Regional Committees that will meet at least quarterly and maintain contacts with farm labor groups, state agencies, and other interested parties, and hold annual public meetings in each region, and (4) develop annual national coordination plans and regional enforcement strategies for farmworker protective statutes.
To make sure that it follows through on these obligations, DOL will be required to provide written compliance reports twice a year for the next three years. The settlement agreement will remain effective so long as the coordinated enforcement regulations remain in place.
“This settlement, with its enforcement mechanisms, will ensure that DOL lives up to its responsibilities to serve and protect farmworkers,” said Public Citizen Litigation Group attorney Michael Kirkpatrick, noting “this lawsuit was necessary because DOL had ignored its regulatory obligations.” In particular, the public meeting requirement will allow farmworkers and their advocates to directly address DOL’s top regional management regarding farmworker issues.
The case was brought by Farm Labor Organizing Committee, Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas, Sin Fronteras Organizing Project, Workers’ Center of Central New York, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, and Coalition of Florida Farmworker Organizations. Public Citizen Litigation Group was joined by co-counsel at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Northwest Workers’ Justice Project, and Florida Rural Legal Services.
You can learn more about the case and the settlement here.