Labor

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A new Colorado labor law, which includes specifics on overtime pay and the use of hand-weeding, has passed the Colorado Senate and will be heard by the House State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs Committee on Thursday, June 3.

A federal judge has rejected a $2 billion plan put forth by Bayer to address a proposed class of plaintiffs who have been exposed to Roundup but have not filed lawsuits against the company, saying the purported benefits of the proposed settlement have been exaggerated.

Ag stakeholders in the Northeast say the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing meat processing capacity concerns in the region, leading many in the area to push for more facilities outside the traditional production hotbeds.

Washington State will phase in mandatory overtime pay for agricultural workers. Gov. Jay Inslee has signed SB 5172 into law, triggering a multi-year process that will begin in 2022 with time-and-a-half for workers beginning after 55 hours in one week.

California lawmakers are considering a bill to ease the rules for unions recruiting workers, as the Supreme Court considers setting limits on California's landmark farmworker law.

Mexico’s Supreme Court refused last week for the second time in six weeks to make a ruling that could allow substantial new access to the Mexican market worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually for U.S. potatoes, fueling Mexican farmers' determination to continue their fight against the trade.

U.S. farmers, government officials and academics told the International Trade Commission that unfair Mexican trade had caused steep losses in domestic vegetable markets, an accusation countered by representatives of Mexican exporters.

The White House Office of Management and Budget is catching heat for a proposal to change how it defines "metropolitan" areas in a way that could leave sparsely populated counties competing with much larger ones for federal dollars.

The intersection of increasing labor shortages, higher pay for agricultural workers, and new attention to employee safety is highlighting efforts to bring labor-saving technologies to specialty crop fields.