Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act

The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act (MSPA) was passed in 1983 replacing the Farm Labor Contractor Registration Act of 1963.  The MSPA enacts obligations on part of the growers who employ farmworkers removing the loophole of not being the one to “employ” the farm laborers and therefore not responsible to provide information (US Labor Law).  Among other things, the MSPA changed the law to include a “joint” employer being responsible to abide by the regulations set in place.  The Wage and Hour Division is responsible for reinforcing the regulations.

  

Any person “recruiting, soliciting, hiring, employing, furnishing or transporting of any migrant or season agricultural workers” is considered a farm labor contractor and needs to be registered with the Wage and Hour Division (Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers).  An agricultural employer that uses a farm labor contractor can be considered a joint employer and as such “the agricultural employer or association is equally responsible for compliance with employment related obligations” (Wages and Hours Worked).  This further protects migrant workers from potential loopholes. 

The obligations included in the MSPA that contractors are required to fulfill include: disclosure, wages, housing safety, and transportation safety.  When recruiting workers employers must provide the terms and conditions of the employment in writing.  The disclosure must be written in the worker’s native language and a copy of the agreement posted at the job site.  In addition to requiring wages to be paid when due; the MSPA also prevents employers from requiring workers to purchase goods and services solely from employer, association or contractor.  In regards to the housing provided for migrant workers, the facility must comply with the federal and state safety and health standards.  A facility may not be used as housing until it has been inspected and certified.  The certificate needs to be posted in the facility.  Finally, the transportation used needs to be properly insured and operated by a licensed driver.  The vehicles must meet federal and state safety standards (Wages and Hours Worked).

The MSPA was implemented to further protect the rights of farm laborers.  As pointed out in previous posts, many children are employed in the fields with their parents they have the same rights as their parents in regards to fair and safe working and living environments.  Unfortunately, many workers are unaware or too afraid to report any problems to the Wage and Hour Division so while some things have improved problems still arise.  

References:

Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act. OSHA Education Center. n.d. https://www.oshaeducationcenter.com/articles/mspa/ Accessed 5 April 2019.

US Labor Law for Farmworkers. Farmworker Justice. n.d. https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/advocacy-and-programs/us-labor-law-farmworkers Accessed 5 April 2019.

Wages and Hours Worked: Worker Protections in Agriculture.  United States Department of Labor.  December 2016. https://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/elg/mspa.htm