An Overview of Complaints filed under MSPA from the last 2.5 years: January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2022
August 10, 2022
Overview
Negotiations are under way to pass new Senate legislation that addresses the urgent need to fix our farm labor shortage – combating inflation, keeping shelves stocked, and lowering food costs.
One possible component of new Senate legislation is the expansion of the protections of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). This provision was included in the House-passed Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021.
Methodology: The data for this research were collected from official sources that include the Department of Labor, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US Department of Agriculture, and Bloomberg Law (available here and here).
An Overview of Complaints Filed under MSPA from the last 2.5 years: January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2022:
- Of the 513,137 farms with hired farmworkers, from January 1, 2020 to July 2022, only 36 MSPA lawsuits were filed in federal court against 34 different employers.
- Of the farms who fall under MSPA, 0.006% have been party to a MSPA lawsuit filed in federal court in the past 2.5 years.
- Approximately 99.99% of farms currently covered under MSPA provisions have had no part in any MSPA lawsuit filed in federal court over the past 2.5 years.
- The House bill extends MSPA to cover H-2A migrant seasonal workers who currently make up only 11% of the farm labor workforce.
- An 11% expansion on 36 cases takes us to 39.9 cases or 40 cases. That takes the percentage from 0.006% to 0.0077% of employers impacted by MSPA litigation.
Conclusion: A review of MSPA lawsuits spanning the last 2.5 years demonstrates these have been filed against 0.006% of the employers operating under the MSPA Act’s provisions.
| MORE MSPA Myths and Facts* | |
| Myth | Fact |
| This bill creates a new private right of action for H-2A workers. | Currently, H-2A employers must comply with the H-2A program requirements which largely meet or exceed MSPA. |
| This bill gives workers up to two years to file a legal claim against an employer, even after the worker has returned to their home country. | Under current statute, H-2A workers already have this right. |
| This bill gives the Department of Labor (DOL) a new ability to sue on behalf of employees. | Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, DOL already has this ability. |
| This bill places a new burden of proof on employers to show that domestic workers were turned away for lawful reasons. | This provision already exists under current law. |
Background: In 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act with bipartisan support. Now Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Mike Bennet (D-CO) have taken the lead on negotiating improvements on the House’s solutions and moving the process forward. Passing new Senate legislation is critical to solving labor shortages facing the agriculture sector and sustaining our nation’s economy as a whole.
ICYM NEWS STUDY: Stabilizing the Agricultural Workforce Lowers Inflation and Food Prices
As policy makers wrestle with how to address record breaking inflation, a new analysis from Texas A&M International University reveals a strong relationship between allowing more migrant and H-2A visa workers and lowering food prices (including milk, eggs, meat, and produce) for American consumers. Texas A&M International reviewed 60 years of data from official sources including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Information was collected from 1960-2020 for most data points, associated with meats, poultry, milk, and eggs. Link to the study: https://www.tamiu.edu/coas/documents/tamiu-abic.pdf
The Texas A&M International topline findings (read full findings here):
- More migrant and more H-2A workers are associated with lower inflation, lower dairy, meat, vegetable and fruit costs.
- More migrant and more H-2A workers are associated with higher average wages and minimum wages.
- More migrant and more H-2A workers are associated with lower unemployment.
- More denied petitions for naturalization are associated with larger consumer prices and higher inflation.
- More petitions for naturalization are associated with lower inflation.
The Time is NOW
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, grocery bills are rising at the fastest pace in more than 40 years, and this year’s July 4th cookouts cost 17% more than last year and 27% more than before the pandemic. Prices for ground beef are up 36% from last summer, chicken breasts up 33%, pork and beans up 33%, pork chops up 31%, lemonade up 22%, and potato salad up 19% – some families were likely forced to skip a cookout altogether. American farmers and consumers cannot afford to wait another year for Congress to pass legislation.
Several House Republicans also called on the Senate to act on its version of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (FWMA), which the House passed in 2019 and 2020. Watch here.
“This is a vitally important issue for America,” Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson, said, “We passed the Farm Workforce Act twice in the house. We want the Senate to act on it and we want them to do it this year. I am living proof that you can actually talk about immigration and go out and win an election.”
“I am here for one reason today and that’s to encourage, to plead, with our senate colleagues to come together so that we can finally fix our broken immigration system and combat the rising cost of food in our country that every single American is facing,” said Washington Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse. “By ensuring that we have a legal and reliable workforce we can secure [our] food supply, food security, and reduce food costs for all Americans. We can raise wages and reduce unemployment for all American workers by creating value-added upstream jobs… What are we waiting for?”
“Across the country our farmers are struggling to navigate soaring costs, supply chain issues and ongoing labor shortage that has tested limits of foundational industry,” said Indiana Republican Rep. Jim Baird. “Law and regulations around this have not been examined for decades now, and, as a result, American farmers and ranchers are under-equipped to meet demands. I hear all too often about challenges that current policy creates for the industry already under immense strain. That’s why I support FWMA and will continue to support other common sense legislation that will give farmers the help they need.”
California Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa elaborated on the bipartisan efforts afoot to pass a bill this year. “This is a very delicately balanced piece of legislation, the FWMA. Both sides are at the table giving and taking. It’s not about sides so much on this thing, because it’s helping resolve a long term issue in agriculture and it’s stable workforce… You have perishable crops and farmers can’t get them to the stores… This is about getting food to people that are grown in this country with high standards,” he said.
There is currently an agricultural labor reform bill (H.R. 1603) that has passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support, and is pending introduction by Sen. Bennet (D-CO) and Sen. Crapo (R-ID) in the Senate. “The price of everyday necessities remains painfully high, exacerbating financial strain for millions of Americans,” said Rebecca Shi ABIC Action Executive Director “The high cost of milk, eggs, butter, produce, and fruits in the supermarket is because the Senate has not acted. To provide food security and lower cost for the American people, we need Senate to act now.”
ABIC Action is the political arm of the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), a bipartisan coalition of over 1,200+ CEOs, business owners, and trade associations across 17 mostly red and purple states. ABIC Action promotes common sense immigration reform that advances economic competitiveness, provides companies with both the high-skilled and low-skilled talent they need, and allows the integration of immigrants into our economy as consumers, workers, entrepreneurs, and citizens.