EL PASO, TEXAS – Sin Fronteras Organizing Project (SFOP), an El Paso nonprofit that has served indigent farmworkers for decades, settled a lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) over DOL’s 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. Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) and Public Citizen Litigation Group represent SFOP.

The settlement now entered as an order of the court, requires DOL to (1) establish and maintain a National Committee that will meet twice annually and guide DOL components on enforcement related to farmworkers; (2) convene a National Committee staff-level working group that will meet at least quarterly; (3) 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; and (4) develop annual national coordination plans and regional enforcement strategies for farmworker protective statutes.

The settlement requires DOL to provide SFOP with written compliance reports twice a year for three years to ensure it follows through on these obligations. If the coordinated enforcement regulations remain in place, the settlement agreement will remain effective.

In particular, the public meeting requirement will allow farmworkers and their advocates to regularly speak directly to DOL’s top regional management about farmworker issues.

“It’s a relief that DOL will finally have a formal process for listening to the voices of farmworkers themselves,” said Carlos Marentes, SFOP’s Executive Director. “And we’re hopeful that DOL’s renewed focus on meaningful enforcement will mean that U.S. farmworkers aren’t systematically shut out of farm jobs in favor of foreign workers who are so desperate that they’ll accept almost any pay or mistreatment.”

“These regulations were adopted in 1980 to address DOL’s failure to provide equal services to farmworkers and to enforce federal laws relating to their wages, housing, and working conditions,” added Greg Schell, one of the TRLA attorneys on the lawsuit. “But for the past few decades, the agency has simply ignored the requirements to seek farmworker input and to enforce farmworker-protective rules. This settlement will allow farmworkers to directly address key DOL officials responsible for administering farmworker protective laws.  It should also result in DOL enforcement efforts that are more efficient and effective.” 

For filings in the lawsuit, Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) et al. v. Su et al., No. 24-706 (D.D.C.), see Public Citizen’s website at  Farm Labor Organizing Committee v. Su - Public Citizen. Lead counsel for the plaintiffs, including FLOC, the Workers’ Center of New York, and Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas, was Michael Kirkpatrick of Public Citizen Litigation Group. Other plaintiffs were the Coalition of Florida Farmworker Organizations (represented by Florida Rural Legal Services, Inc.) and Pineros y Campesinos del Noroeste (represented by the Northwest Workers’ Justice Project). SFOP was represented by TRLA attorneys Greg Schell and Douglas L. Stevick.

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 For media inquiries, please contact:

Sam Rucobo, Public Relations Manager, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, srucobo@trla.org.

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid provides free legal services to people who cannot afford an attorney in 68 southwestern counties, including the entire Texas-Mexico border, and to farmworkers in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. TRLA attorneys specialize in more than 45 areas of law, including disaster assistance, family, employment, landlord-tenant, housing, education, immigration, farmworker, and civil rights. Our hotline is open from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (CST) Monday - Friday: (956)-996-TRLA (8752) or toll-free at (833) 329-TRLA (8752).