Legal Status of Agricultural Workers Under State Labor Legislation

Excerpts from the report Introduction: Examination of State labor laws reveals a conspicuous practice on the part of legislatures to deny persons employed in farming legislative protection. Some of the reasons which have been advanced for the exclusion of this group of workers from the provisions of State labor legislation have been; (a) a belief that the administrative difficulties would make administrative costs so high as to be prohibitive; (b) a fear that the small farmers would be placed at a disadvantage in comparison with large farmers if the legislation applied equally to both; (c) a tradition that the farm hand does not require protection; and (d) that inclusion of farm laborers would result in defeat of any proposed labor legislation. No attempt is made here, to examine critically the merits of these contentions. The following review of labor legislation as it affects agricultural workers does no more than show whether or not the State provides legal standards affecting the employment of this type of labor