Migrant Workers

Compensation and the Law

Compensation for migrant workers, most of whom do mundane jobs, has seldom reached parity with the society in which They work and at best may reach minimum wage status. They face many obstacles that prevent them from obtaining needed compensation benefits. These include but are not limited to lack of coverage, a growing trend for states to deny benefits to undocumented workers, and workers reluctance to file claims for fear of employer retaliation. In many societies, migrant workers are required to pay taxes even though many states do not require employers to provide them with workers’ compensation. Evidently, while They are eligible for programs such as Medicaid, Aid to Families With Dependent Children, and Social Security insurance, the majority cannot obtain these benefits. For example, only about 27 percent of farmworkers receive Social Security payments. They may fail eligibility standards because their income is not stable and because of the need for them to move frequently to find jobs. The American farmworker is a typical example of underpaid migrant workers whose annual income reflects an average of $12,000 to $13,999, and 23 percent of farmworker families are generally below the American poverty line.

American labor laws have not adequately addressed the economic plight of their migrant [Page 867]farmworkers who are rooted to the base of the economic pyramid. Some labor and immigration laws have served to erode the rights of the migrant workers. This existed under the Bracero Program established in 1942 and continues under the present H2A program created by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which allowed contractual arrangements with foreign countries, thereby excluding the United States from worker liabilities incurred in that country.

Migrant workers weed sugar beets from dawn to dusk for $2.00 an hour in 1972. The bulk of migrant workers in the Western Hemisphere are seasonal farmworkers in the United States and include both internal and foreign migrant workers. It is estimated that there are more than 3 million migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States.

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