Workers' Compensation Claims for Agriculture Workers

Workers' Compensation for Agriculture Workers

When it comes to various industries within our country, agriculture is a significant one. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, 10.4% of all employment roles in our country in 2022 were in the agriculture or food sector, which equates to 22.1 million jobs. Direct farming accounts for at least 2.6 million of those roles.

Given the sheer number of individuals employed in the agricultural and related industries and the heavy machinery they work with, the chemicals and elements they’re exposed to, and the hard labor they perform, workers are bound to get hurt or become ill. Below, we share what you need to know about workers’ compensation claims for agricultural workers like yourself if you experienced an injury or a decline in your health while on the job.

Injuries and Illnesses Farm Workers Face on the Job

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), agricultural sector workers have to deal with a wide range of health-affecting factors in the course of their employment, including the following:

  • Dermatologic conditions, including skin cancer
  • Lung diseases
  • Vehicular accidents (like tractor rollovers) resulting in crush injuries
  • Falls, especially into grain bins, leading to caught-in injuries
  • Hearing loss
  • Chemical-exposure-induced cancers

Generally, conditions like the ones described above would qualify an employee to receive compensated medical care and lost wages. However, doing so isn’t always straightforward, especially in some jurisdictions.

Farmworkers Are Often Exempt From Workers’ Comp Coverage

It’s not uncommon to see that workers in the agricultural sector are often exempt from workers’ compensation coverage, especially when it comes to seasonal workers. Research conducted by the National Center for Farmworker Health, Inc. suggests that:

  • It’s mandatory for employers in 14 states to have workers’ compensation that covers all agricultural workers
  • At least 19 states require employers in the agricultural sector to have workers’ comp coverage but have exceptions for smaller-scale enterprises
  • Another 17 U.S. states or territories don’t require employers in this sector to offer any workers’ compensation benefits to its agricultural workers

There is one exception that supersedes all the rules above, which is if the injured worker has a certain work visa. As you may be aware, an H-2A visa, as described by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is for Temporary Agricultural Workers. Our country’s laws require any employer who hires H-2A visa holders to have workers’ compensation coverage that covers anyone who works for them.

Determining What Qualifies as Agricultural Work

The Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at Iowa State University issued a report on the status of workers’ compensation claims for agricultural workers in 2015. That report addressed two approaches that the agricultural states Kansas and Iowa use for handling workers’ comp claims filed by farmworkers.

In the case of Kansas, agricultural workers were generally ineligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Workers employed in certain exempt industries maintain access to workers’ comp. Exempt industries include:

  • Sale barns
  • Feed mills
  • Grain elevators
  • Feedlots

Employers may still choose to purchase workers’ compensation coverage for their employees even when not required to do so, though.

In contrast, the researchers pointed out that Iowa only required employers in the farming industry to have this coverage if its total cash payroll totaled $2,500 during the previous calendar year.

Other sections of the Iowa workers’ compensation statute outlined how certain agricultural workers were exempt from receiving benefits under the program, including:

  • An employer’s children and stepchildren, spouses, siblings, and parents
  • Those same close family members of a business partner involved in an agribusiness
  • Close relatives of officers of family farms incorporated as limited liability companies or corporations
  • A person who would typically be exempt from receiving workers’ comp benefits who exchanges agricultural work labor with another

Agricultural Workers May Struggle To Access Care and Compensation

Even in instances where state law requires employers to have coverage, there may be situations where workers’ compensation claims for agricultural workers don’t occur. Why? Factors, such as the following, may dictate whether an injured or ill farmworker files a claim, even if coverage does exist:

  • Confusion about how workers’ comp works, especially in terms of who or what roles are coverable and what to do to secure compensated medical care and reimbursement of at least a portion of lost wages
  • Concerns about finding a doctor who will place them out of work long enough to fully recover from their injury or illness
  • Fears of being retaliated against by an employer because they report an illness or injury
  • Concern about how reporting an on-the-job injury or illnesses may impact immigration status

As for the latter factor, according to the most recent data compiled as part of the National Agricultural Workers Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor, as many as 68% of our country’s farmworkers were born in other countries, with Mexico being most represented.

Getting Help If You're Hurt or Sick While Undocumented

Even in states or territories where agricultural workers should qualify for workers’ compensation benefits for their injuries or illnesses, their immigration status could greatly impact whether they’re able to do so.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in the Hoffman Plastics v. NLRB case in 2002 in which the panel of justices stated that undocumented workers should either be ineligible for workers’ compensation benefits or have their access to them significantly restricted.

As one example since that time, the Maine legislature altogether made undocumented workers ineligible for workers’ comp. In Pennsylvania and Michigan, changes have been enacted so that undocumented immigrants can receive compensation for medical care if injured or sick, but ineligible for compensation for any missed pay.

The nature of one’s employment, immigration status, and other factors can add to the degree of complication associated with filing workers’ compensation claims for agricultural workers, which is why you’ll want to carefully weigh your options to ensure you give yourself the best possible chance of securing the benefits you may be entitled to.

Help for injured undocumented workers

Free Consultation

This website was created and is maintained by the legal team at Thomas Law Offices. Our attorneys are experienced in a wide variety of personal injury and work injury cases and represent clients on a nationwide level. Call us or fill out the form to the right to tell us about your potential case. We will get back to you as quickly as possible.