The Labor Department will have to keep agricultural workers informed about its enforcement efforts, under a settlement reached with six farmworker groups.
Sin Fronteras Organizing Project (SFOP) had sued the department for its “continued failure to abide by regulations requiring it to seek input from farmworkers and to coordinate among DOL agencies its enforcement of laws protecting farmworkers,” the group said.
In addition to a National Farm Labor Enforcement Committee that will meet twice a year, the department will have to create regional committees “that will meet at least quarterly and maintain contacts with farm labor groups, state agencies, and other interested parties, and hold annual public meetings in each region,” SFOP said.
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“This settlement will allow farmworkers to directly address key DOL officials responsible for administering farmworker protective laws,” said Greg Schell, one of the Texas RioGrande Legal Aid attorneys on the lawsuit. “It should also result in DOL enforcement efforts that are more efficient and effective.”
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