PRINTER'S NO. 905
No. 802 Session of 1975
INTRODUCED BY ZEARFOSS, RAPPAPORT, GLEASON, DOYLE AND BURNS,
MARCH 18, 1975
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, MARCH 19, 1975
AN ACT
1 Regulating the use of seasonal farm labor and providing
2 penalties.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 ARTICLE I
6 Preliminary Provisions
7 Section 101. Short Title.--This act shall be known and may
8 be cited as the "Seasonal Farm Labor Act."
9 Section 102. Declaration of Intent.--It is declared to be
10 the intent of the Legislature by this act to improve the
11 conditions of seasonal farm workers by establishing standards
12 for their wages, hours, conditions of work and housing; by
13 making unlawful the practices by which such workers may be
14 isolated from the community, and from services to which they are
15 by law entitled and by limiting child labor among such workers.
16 Section 103. Definitions.--As used in this act:
17 "Employer" means every individual, firm, partnership,
18 association, trust, corporation, receiver or other officer of a
1 court of this Commonwealth, or any person or group of persons
2 acting, directly or indirectly, in the interest of an employer
3 in relation to any employee, employing or permitting to work any
4 seasonal farm worker in this Commonwealth, and includes every
5 farmer, grower, processor, canner, packing shed operator,
6 nurseryman or landowner who employs, or on whose premises or in
7 whose interest is employed, any seasonal farm worker.
8 "Farm labor contractor" means any person who, for payment,
9 wages, salary, fee or other consideration, either for himself or
10 on behalf of another person, recruits, solicits, hires,
11 furnishes or transports five or more seasonal farm workers
12 (excluding members of his immediate family) in any calendar year
13 for employment in agriculture or in agriculture-related
14 industry. Such term shall not include any person, firm,
15 partnership, association or corporation which is the holder of a
16 valid and current license pursuant to the act of July 31, 1941
17 (P.L.616, No.261), known as the "Employment Agency Law" or any
18 nonprofit charitable organization, public or nonprofit private
19 educational institution, or similar organization. Whenever a
20 firm, partnership, association, trust, or corporation engages in
21 such activity for the purpose of supplying seasonal farm workers
22 solely for its own operation, the term "farm labor contractor"
23 means that officer, official, supervisor or employee most
24 directly responsible for such activity. Whenever an individual
25 farmer, grower, processor, canner, packing shed operator,
26 nurseryman or landowner engages in such activity for the purpose
27 of supplying seasonal farm workers solely for his own operation,
28 or in which an employee of such individual engages in such
29 activity on his behalf, the term "farm labor contractor" means
30 such individual or employee.
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1 "Seasonal farm labor" means labor or employment engaged in by
2 an individual defined in this act as a seasonal farm worker.
3 "Seasonal farm labor camp" means any living quarters, housing
4 accommodations, dwelling, hotel, inn, motel, rooming house,
5 boarding house, dormitory, tenement, bunkhouse or barracks, or
6 any building or buildings so used or intended for use,
7 maintained directly or indirectly in connection with any work or
8 place where work is being performed by seasonal farm workers
9 whether or not rent is paid or reserved for use or occupancy,
10 and includes the premises or site upon which such a building is
11 situated, and any facilities necessary to or associated with
12 such a building, and any area or site set aside and provided for
13 camping of seasonal farm workers. It includes migrant labor
14 camps, farm labor camps, seasonal labor camps, agricultural
15 labor camps, and labor camps operated in connection with
16 agricultural situations, such as mushroom production, flower
17 production, nurseries and similar agricultural operations
18 including crop and related food processing. It shall not include
19 buildings reserved exclusively for the personal use of the
20 landowner.
21 "Seasonal farm worker" means an individual employed in
22 raising, cultivating, fertilizing, seeding, planting, pruning,
23 harvesting, gathering, washing, sorting, weighing, handling,
24 drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, grading,
25 storing or delivering to market or to storage or to a carrier
26 for transportation to market, in its unmanufactured state, any
27 agricultural commodity as defined in the act of September 20,
28 1961 (P.L.1541, No.657), known as the "Pennsylvania Agricultural
29 Commodities Marketing Act of 1968," or any farm product as that
30 term is defined in Chapter 15 of Title 1 of the Pennsylvania
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1 Consolidated Statutes known as the Statutory Construction Act of
2 1972 on a seasonal or other temporary basis, and includes every
3 individual irrespective of his primary employment if he performs
4 agricultural labor on a seasonal or other temporary basis.
5 "Secretary" means, in Article II and Article III, the
6 Secretary of Labor and Industry, and in Article IV, the
7 Secretary of Environmental Resources, except where clearly
8 stated otherwise.
9 ARTICLE II
10 Wages and Hours
11 Section 201. Minimum Wages.--(a) Every employer shall pay to
12 each seasonal farm worker wages at a rate of not less than:
13 (1) One dollar sixty cents ($1.60) an hour effective
14 immediately.
15 (2) One dollar eighty cents ($1.80) an hour effective May 1,
16 1975.
17 (3) Two dollars ($2.00) an hour effective January 1, 1976.
18 (4) Two dollars twenty cents ($2.20) an hour effective
19 January 1, 1977.
20 (5) Two dollars thirty cents ($2.30) an hour effective
21 January 1, 1978.
22 (b) Such wages shall be paid at such rates notwithstanding
23 any contrary provision or exclusion of the act of January 17,
24 1968 (P.L.11, No.5) known as "The Minimum Wage Act of 1968."
25 Section 202. Overtime Wages.--A seasonal farm worker shall
26 be paid not less than one and one-half times his regular rate,
27 for each hour of labor performed by him in excess of 40 hours in
28 a workweek.
29 Section 203. Piece Rates.--(a) Notwithstanding the
30 provisions of sections 201 and 202 of this article, an employer
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1 of seasonal farm labor may adopt a piece rate or rates, or
2 differential piece rate or rates, as a basis for, or a partial
3 or additional basis for, the compensation of seasonal farm
4 workers in his employment: Provided, That any such piece rate or
5 rates, or differential piece rate or rates, shall yield to each
6 seasonal farm worker in his employment, in each workweek, not
7 less than the applicable minimum hourly wage rate and overtime
8 wage rate which such seasonal farm worker would have received
9 pursuant to the provisions of sections 201 and 202 of this
10 article, taken together, in the same workweek.
11 (b) An employer of seasonal farm labor who adopts a piece
12 rate or rates, or differential piece rate or rates, as a basis
13 for or a partial or additional basis for the compensation of
14 seasonal farm workers in his employment, shall apply such piece
15 rate or rates to the work done by every minor in his employment
16 in the same manner as such rates are applied to adult workers,
17 and shall compensate such minor at such rates as are applied to
18 work done by adult workers, subject to the minimum and overtime
19 wage provisions of sections 201 and 202 of this act.
20 Section 204. Portal-to-portal Pay.--An employer of seasonal
21 farm labor shall pay to each seasonal farm worker minimum wages
22 pursuant to section 201, and overtime wages pursuant to section
23 202, on account of walking, riding, or traveling to and from the
24 actual place of performance of the principal activity or
25 activities which such worker is employed to perform, where the
26 place of residence for the seasonal farm worker is provided by
27 the employer, for walking, riding or traveling from one such
28 place of performance to another during any workday, and for
29 activities which precede or follow said principal activity or
30 activities, which occur either prior to the time on any
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1 particular workday at which such worker commences, or subsequent
2 to the time on any particular workday at which he ceases, such
3 principal activity or activities.
4 Section 205. Employment of Minors.--(a) No minor under 14
5 years of age shall be required to work or be penalized for
6 failure to work as a seasonal farm worker except that this
7 subsection shall not apply to any member of an employer's
8 immediate family.
9 (b) A minor between the ages of 14 and 17 years who is
10 employed or permitted to work as a seasonal farm worker, an
11 employer of such minor, and the school district in which such
12 minor is employed, shall be subject to the provisions of the act
13 of May 13, 1915 (P.L.286, No.177), known as the "Child Labor
14 Law"; and to the provisions of the act of June 23, 1931
15 (P.L.923, No.309), except that no such minor shall be employed
16 between the hours of seven o'clock in the morning and one hour
17 following the end of the school day on any regular school day of
18 the school district wherein he is a resident, whether or not
19 such minor is registered as a pupil in such school district.
20 (c) Notwithstanding the contrary provision of any other law,
21 every person 17 years or older who is employed as a seasonal
22 farm worker shall be considered an adult for the purposes of
23 this act.
24 Section 206. Discrimination on Account of Sex Prohibited.--
25 No employer of seasonal farm labor shall discriminate, within
26 the purview of his activities, between workers on the basis of
27 sex by paying wages to workers at a rate less than the rate at
28 which he pays wages to workers of the opposite sex for equal
29 work on jobs, the performance of which requires equal skill,
30 effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under
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1 similar working conditions, except where such payment is made
2 pursuant to a system which measures earnings by quantity or
3 quality of production. The Secretary of Labor and Industry shall
4 have the power, and it shall be his duty, to carry out and
5 administer the provisions of this section pursuant to the act of
6 December 17, 1959 (P.L.1913, No.694), known as the "Equal Pay
7 Law."
8 Section 207. Records Required; Notice to Workers.--(a) An
9 employer of seasonal farm labor, and every farm labor
10 contractor, shall make, keep and preserve such records,
11 including the social security number of the persons employed by
12 him, contracted for or recruited by him, or employed under his
13 supervision, the wages, hours, wage rate or rates, price rate or
14 rates, and other conditions and practices of employment
15 maintained by him, and shall preserve them for such periods of
16 time, and make such reports therefrom as shall be required by
17 Federal law or regulation, the laws or regulations of this
18 Commonwealth, and the local taxing authority. Such records shall
19 include satisfactory evidence of timely payment of wages, either
20 by signed receipt or by check endorsed by the payee.
21 (b) An employer of seasonal farm labor shall furnish to each
22 seasonal farm worker, at the time of payment of wages, salaries,
23 or other compensation for time, or labor, or work performed, a
24 written statement in such manner and in such form as may be
25 prescribed by the Department of Revenue, showing the amount of
26 compensation paid by the employer to the seasonal farm worker,
27 the wage rate or rates, hours worked, piece rate or rates and
28 units of work performed if applicable, the computation of gross
29 compensation, the amounts deducted or withheld for every
30 purpose, and such other information as the Department of Revenue
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1 may require.
2 Section 208. Wage Payment.--(a) Notwithstanding any contrary
3 provision of the act of July 14, 1961 (P.L.637, No.329), known
4 as the "Wage Payment and Collection Law," an employer of
5 seasonal farm labor shall pay directly to every seasonal farm
6 worker all wages due him, on account of time, labor or
7 employment in any calendar week, including overtime pay and any
8 payment for piece rates, or differential piece rates, excepting
9 only lawful deductions, on regular paydays designated in advance
10 by the employer but in no case more than seven days after the
11 end of that calendar week.
12 (b) Wages shall be paid in lawful money of the United States
13 or by check.
14 (c) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (a) of this
15 section, or of any other law, an employer of seasonal farm labor
16 shall pay in full, pursuant to subsection (b) of this section,
17 all wages or other compensation for time, labor and employment
18 due and payable to a seasonal farm worker, immediately upon the
19 termination of the period of employment for which the seasonal
20 farm worker was employed.
21 (d) No employer of seasonal farm labor shall deduct,
22 withdraw, withhold or otherwise retain from the wages of any
23 seasonal farm worker, any amount on account of debts accrued or
24 anticipated, regardless of purpose or circumstance: Provided,
25 That nothing in this subsection shall prohibit any employer of
26 seasonal farm labor from deducting or withholding from wages
27 paid, such amounts as may be required on account of a tax,
28 social security payment, dues payable to a recognized labor
29 organization, a contribution or voluntary subscription for the
30 support of a charitable organization or institution, a premium
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1 or other charge due from the employee or worker for group
2 insurance pursuant to any contract with an insurance company, or
3 a nonprofit corporation providing medical, osteopathic, dental
4 or legal services, which the employee or worker has authorized
5 in writing, or an amount or partial amount of any advance
6 payment by the employer to the employee or worker against
7 subsequent earnings pursuant to a contract or prior agreement
8 with such seasonal farm worker.
9 (e) No employer of seasonal farm labor shall designate as
10 his agent, or shall permit to act or perform as his agent, with
11 respect to the payment of wages or other compensation, a farm
12 labor contractor or a person engaged in activities as a farm
13 labor contractor. This subsection shall not apply to a person,
14 copartnership, association or corporation holding a valid and
15 current license pursuant to the act of July 31, 1941 (P.L.616,
16 No.261), known as the "Employment Agency Law." If no such farm
17 labor contractor exists, this requirement shall apply also to
18 the farmer, grower, nurseryman, or landowner.
19 (f) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to
20 deprive a seasonal farm worker of a right or privilege to which
21 he is entitled under any law of this Commonwealth, or by any
22 rules or regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.
23 Section 209. Hours of Labor.--(a) No seasonal farm worker
24 shall be required to work or be penalized for failure to work on
25 any premises for more than six days in any one week or more than
26 48 hours in any one week, or more than ten hours in any one day.
27 (b) Whenever a seasonal farm worker shall be employed or
28 permitted to work on the premises of more than one employer in
29 any one week or in any one day, the aggregate number of hours
30 during which he shall be required to work on such premises shall
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1 not exceed 48 in any one week or ten in any one day.
2 (c) No seasonal farm worker shall be required to work for
3 more than five hours continuously on any premises without a meal
4 or rest period of at least 30 minutes, which period shall not be
5 considered a part of the hours of labor. No period of less than
6 30 minutes shall be deemed to interrupt a continuous period of
7 work.
8 Section 210. Collective Bargaining.--(a) Seasonal farm
9 workers shall have the right to self-organization, to form,
10 join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively
11 through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in
12 concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or
13 other mutual aid or protection. Seasonal farm workers and
14 employers of seasonal farm labor, shall be subject to the
15 provisions of the act of June 1, 1937 (P.L.1168, No.294), known
16 as the "Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act."
17 (b) An employer of seasonal farm labor shall not be deemed
18 to have violated section 209 of this article by employing a
19 person for a workweek in excess of the maximum workweek, or for
20 a workday in excess of the maximum workday, during a period or
21 periods of not more than 14 workweeks in the aggregate in any
22 calendar year, if the seasonal farm worker is employed pursuant
23 to an agreement made as a result of collective bargaining by
24 representatives of employees.
25 ARTICLE III
26 Regulations and Inspections
27 Section 301. Rules and Regulations.--(a) The secretary,
28 subject to the prior comment of the Seasonal Farm Labor
29 Committee established in subsection (b) of this section, may
30 adopt, amend and repeal such rules and regulations as he deems
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1 necessary for carrying out the functions of the Department of
2 Environmental Resources under this act. The Seasonal Farm Labor
3 Committee may submit comments on existing rules and regulations
4 to the secretary and the Environmental Quality Board.
5 (b) There is hereby established in the Department of
6 Environmental Resources a Seasonal Farm Labor Committee
7 consisting of the Secretary of Environmental Resources or his
8 designee, who shall be chairman, the Secretary of Agriculture or
9 his designee, the Secretary of Labor and Industry or his
10 designee and six persons appointed by the Governor for terms of
11 four years, three of whom shall be employers of seasonal farm
12 labor or persons with experience in using seasonal farm labor
13 for agricultural purposes and three of whom shall be
14 representatives of organizations or agencies concerned with the
15 welfare of seasonal farm labor. Of the members first appointed,
16 one shall serve one year, one shall serve two years, two shall
17 serve three years and two shall serve four years. The public
18 members shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in
19 the performance of their duties.
20 (c) The Environmental Quality Board shall not adopt rules or
21 regulations for seasonal farm labor or labor camps except after
22 receiving written comments on the proposed rules or regulations
23 from the Seasonal Farm Labor Committee which shall be submitted
24 to the Environmental Quality Board no later than 30 days after
25 receipt from the secretary. The chairman of the Seasonal Farm
26 Labor Committee shall call a meeting of the committee whenever
27 rules or regulations are proposed.
28 Section 302. Inspections and Entry.--(a) Seasonal farm labor
29 camps shall be inspected by the Department of Environmental
30 Resources from time to time, but at least once each six months.
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1 At least one such inspection shall be made while the camps are
2 occupied by seasonal farm workers. Inspectors shall consult with
3 and assist camp owners and operators with respect to the
4 requirements of this act, the rules and regulations issued
5 pursuant thereto, and other statutes and ordinances. They shall
6 ascertain and report to the department violations of this act or
7 any other act and the rules and regulations issued pursuant
8 thereto which are apparent in the course of any inspection.
9 (b) The secretary, and his authorized officers and agents,
10 upon proper identification, may for the purposes of this act:
11 (1) Enter public or private property to determine whether
12 there exists a camp to which this act applies.
13 (2) Enter and inspect all camps wheresoever situate, and
14 inspect all sites, accommodations, equipment or facilities
15 associated therewith.
16 (3) Enter and inspect the land adjacent to any camp,
17 excluding that reserved solely for the owner's personal use, to
18 determine whether the requirements of this act, or of any rules
19 and regulations issued pursuant to this or any other act, are
20 being complied with.
21 Section 303. Drinking Water; Toilet Facilities.--On any
22 premises where seasonal farm workers are employed or permitted
23 to work, the employer shall provide in the working area and
24 readily accessible to them, a sufficient supply of cool, potable
25 water, sufficient, suitable and separate toilet facilities for
26 each sex which shall be properly screened, ventilated and
27 maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, and suitable
28 facilities for the washing of hands.
29 Section 304. Prohibition of Violations.--No person,
30 corporation or association shall construct, establish, maintain
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1 or operate any seasonal farm labor camp in violation of any
2 requirement of this article, or of any rule or regulation
3 promulgated pursuant thereto.
4 Section 305. Appeals.--Any person aggrieved by any action or
5 the Secretary of Environmental Resources under this article may
6 file an appeal with the Environmental Quality Board pursuant to
7 the act of June 4, 1945 (P.L.1388, No.442), known as the
8 "Administrative Agency Law."
9 ARTICLE IV
10 Access and Entry
11 Section 401. Tenancy Rights.--A seasonal farm worker who
12 resides in any structure or property of the employer, whether or
13 not under any contract of rental or lease, and whether or not
14 consideration is given for the right or privilege of such
15 residence, and for whatever time, shall be deemed to be the
16 tenant in possession and shall have every right and recourse to
17 law as if he were the tenant in possession for such time as he
18 shall reside therein.
19 Section 402. Interference Prohibited.--No person shall
20 prohibit, bar, or interfere with, or attempt to prohibit, bar,
21 or interfere with, the access to or egress from the grounds of
22 any seasonal farm labor camp by any peaceable person, either by
23 the erection or maintenance of any physical barrier, or by
24 physical force or violence, or by threat of force or violence,
25 or by posting, or by any order or notice given in any manner.
26 Section 403. Privileged Persons.--The entry to, or egress
27 from the premises of any seasonal farm labor camp shall not be
28 denied by any means, nor shall any person attempt to deny or to
29 limit the access to or egress from any seasonal farm labor camp
30 at any time; to (i) any inspector employed by any department,
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1 board, agency, bureau, commission or service of the United
2 States, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a local government, or
3 the executive or administrative officer of any such department,
4 board, agency, bureau, commission or service, or his duly
5 authorized representative who shall, upon request, present
6 proper identification; or (ii) to guests of seasonal farm
7 workers, persons working under the auspices of private
8 organizations whose primary objective is the health, safety,
9 welfare or dignity of seasonal farm workers or any individual,
10 group or public agency whose primary purpose is to provide a
11 service to the owner of a seasonal farm labor camp.
12 ARTICLE V
13 Construction, Repeals, Penalties,
14 Effective Date
15 Section 501. Administrative Procedure.--The act of June 4,
16 1945 (P.L.1388, No.442), known as the "Administrative Agency
17 Law," shall be applicable in its entirety to the Department of
18 Labor and Industry with reference to Article II and Article III,
19 and to the Department of Environmental Resources with reference
20 to Article IV, in the administration of this act.
21 Section 502. Saving Provision.--The provisions of this act
22 shall not affect any act done, liability incurred, right accrued
23 or vested, or any suit or prosecution pending to enforce any
24 right or penalty or punish any offense under the authority of
25 any act of assembly, or part thereof, repealed by this act.
26 Section 503. Continuation of Regulations.--Orders and
27 regulations promulgated under any law affected by this act and
28 in effect on the effective date of this act and not in conflict
29 with it shall continue in effect until modified, superseded or
30 repealed.
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1 Section 504. Pending Proceedings.--Prosecution for any
2 violation of law occurring prior to the effective date of this
3 act shall not be affected or abated by this act. Injunction
4 proceedings commenced prior to the effective date of this act
5 shall not be affected by this act. Administrative proceedings
6 pending under prior laws which are superseded by this act shall
7 be continued and brought to a final determination in accord with
8 the laws and rules in effect prior to the effective date of this
9 act.
10 Section 505. Repeals.--All acts and parts of acts
11 inconsistent herewith are repealed. The provisions of this act
12 shall not be construed to repeal or modify the powers and duties
13 of any agency of the Commonwealth pursuant to section 9 of the
14 act of May 18, 1937 (P.L.654, No.174), entitled, as amended, "An
15 act to provide for the safety and to protect the health and
16 morals of persons while employed; prescribing certain
17 regulations and restrictions concerning places where persons are
18 employed, and the equipment, apparatus, materials, devices and
19 machinery used therein; prescribing certain powers and duties of
20 the Department of Labor and Industry relative to the enforcement
21 of this act; and fixing penalties."
22 Section 506. Penalties.--(a) Whoever violates any provision
23 of sections 201, 202, 203, 204, 206 or 207 of this act shall,
24 for the first offense, be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second
25 degree and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to pay a fine
26 not to exceed $500 or to imprisonment not exceeding two years,
27 or both; and for each subsequent offense, be guilty of a
28 misdemeanor of the first degree and, upon conviction, shall be
29 sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment
30 not exceeding five years, or both.
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1 (b) Any person who prevents the Department of Environmental
2 Resources from carrying out its duties under the provisions of
3 section 302 of this act shall, for the first offense, be guilty
4 of a summary offense, and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced
5 to pay a fine not exceeding $500 or to imprisonment not
6 exceeding 90 days, or both; and for each subsequent offense,
7 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree and, upon
8 conviction, shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding
9 $1,000 or to imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both.
10 (c) Whoever violates any provision of section 401, 402, or
11 403 of this act shall, for the first offense, be guilty of a
12 summary offense, and, upon conviction shall be sentenced to pay
13 a fine not exceeding $500 or to imprisonment not exceeding 90
14 days, or both; and for each subsequent offense, shall be guilty
15 of a misdemeanor of the first degree and, upon conviction, shall
16 be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to
17 imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both.
18 (d) Each violation of a provision of a section of this act
19 enumerated in this section shall be considered a subsequent
20 offense for the purposes of this section if the person convicted
21 shall previously have been convicted of a violation of any
22 provision of any section of this act enumerated in this section.
23 (e) Prosecution for a violation of any section of this act
24 shall not bar prosecution for a violation of any other section
25 of this act, or of any other law, statute or ordinance resulting
26 from any action of the offender.
27 Section 507. Effective Date.--The licensing provisions of
28 Article II hereof shall take effect January 1 hereafter and the
29 remainder of the act shall take effect in 90 days.
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