Labor Law and Legislation

Labor Laws

This section includes an overview of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.  Click here  to read more about these laws and the protections that they provide to farmworkers.

Minimum Wage Legislation

There are on-going campaigns to increase both the federal and state minimum wages.  The federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour has not been raised since 1997, leaving a significant proportion of farmworkers below the poverty line and unable to meet the basic costs of living.      

• September 9, 2006 Letter from Farmworker Justice to Members of Congress highlighting need for increase in the minimum wage

•  June 20, 2006 Letter from Farmworker Justice to Members of Congress asking them to support an increase in the minimum wage

•  For more information about the battle to increase the minimum wage, please visit these webpages:

o         AFL-CIO’s webpage at http://www.aflcio.org/issues/jobseconomy/livingwages/americaneedsaraise.cfm

o         Economic Policy Institute’s webpage at http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/issueguides_minwage

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