Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services

Free Legal Assistance for Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers in Minnesota and North Dakota

Who is SMRLS? Southern Minnesota Regional Legal

Services (SMRLS) provides free civil legal services to low income clients throughout the 33 counties of southern Minnesota and to migrant farmworkers throughout Minnesota and North Dakota

Who is a migrant farmworker? A person who works in seasonal agricultural

work and must be absent from his permanent home overnight

A person who has worked and migrated for agricultural work within the last two years

Meat packing and dairy work may also considered agricultural work for issues related to migrant status (i.e. employment issues, recruitment, eligibility to work)

Entire family is considered migrant as long as one member is a migrant farmworker

What type of cases do we handle for migrant farmworkers?

Crew leader problems Contract disputes Wage claims Overtime Cash Assistance Food Support General Assistance Medical Assistance Emergency

Assistance

Identity theft Tax issues Pesticide issues

(limited) Immigration Citizenship Security deposits Landlord/Tenant issues Civil rights and

discrimination (limited)

Where are our 2008 summer migrant outreach offices? Southeast MN

Owatonna Rochester Plainview Montgomery

Red River Valley Grafton Fargo Breckenridge East Grand Forks

Southwest MN Olivia Sleepy Eye Danube Brooten Glencoe

Public BenefitsResidency ExceptionsMigrant Exception:

If the migrant worker has earned $1000 in the previous 12 mths then the residency requirement is waived.

Hardship Exception: Without shelter or w/out available resources for food; (each county will have its own standards)

Issuance; food supportProblems with participation in another state

Can’t get food support from more than one state for the same month

Clients must close their TX case before opening one in MN

If migrant household received food support within the past 30 days, their food support is not prorated Means they will get uninterrupted food support

Income Eligibility

Migrant Workers income counted “prospectively” –what they will earn in the future

Must be “reasonably certain”

Expedited: Destitute

Destitute Status: Migrants and seasonal farm workers with $100 or less in liquid resources if: They received all their income at some time

before the day of application They cannot get any more income from that

source They do not expect to get more than $25 for

at least the next 10 days (includes MFIP)

General rules for Expedited Migrant farmworker in destitute status; or Household unit less than $150 gross

monthly income and $100 or less in “liquid resources”; examples of liquid resources Cash on hand Checking or savings account Rent or mortgage and utility payments for the

month that are more than the total of gross income for the month plus any liquid resources

Immigration Residency Filing Difficulty in communicating Advantages and disadvantages of

filing with St. Paul

AWPA

Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker’s

Protection Act

Passed in 1983 to replace and repealed prior law Farm Labor Contractor Registration (FLCRA)

– FLCRA had little enforcement mechanisms

– AWPA addressed definition of agricultural

– AWPA provided more protectionsRequires advance disclosure of work terms and conditionsER compliance with work agreements and wage obligationsComplete and accurate record keeping and pay statementsTransportation safetyHousing, health, and safety standardsLicensing of farm labor contractors

AWPA covers big agricultural Ers/corporations = farmer, packer, processor who recruits, solicits hires,employs, furnishes, or transports migrant or seasonal workers

– TEST: at least 500 man-days of labor in any 1 calendar quarter of previous year (500 man days=7 full time employees for a whole calendar quarter)

All FLC must possess a FLC registration certificate issued by US DOL

Need special authority to transport or house workers

Requires compliance with licensing, insurance, vehicle/housing standards

Enforcement of AWPA

US DOL can impose criminal sanctions and civil money penalties

Private right of action, seek actual damages or statutory damages of up to $500 per violation (in discretion of the court) Clients choose

Ag ER and FLC jointly and severally liable for each AWPA violation

Migrant Legal Services Concerns

Monitoring compliance of FLC Monitoring AG Ers who are covered by

AWPA Monitoring AG Ers who recruit for

themselves and others

Housing Migrant Most common types of migrant

housing arrangements: Migrant Camps (family or single) Mobile homes Apartments Hotels Relatives

Issues with Apartments Illegal Ks K terms Breach of K by

migrant worker and/or landlord

Repairs Habitability of the

unit

Security Deposits Occupancy rules Charging abusive

rent due to need of worker

Moving in and out check list

Ability to sue landlord

Issues With Migrant Camps Compliance of

safety regulations Compliance with

capacity regulations

Food and restroom facilities

Single/family occupancy

Trespassing by non-authorized guests

Lack of complaints from workers

Issues with Mobile Homes Inappropriate

transfer of title Lack permission

to rent lot in the mobile home park

Abusive and discriminating rules imposed by park owners

Parking where it is not authorized by park.

Behavior of guests.

Park charging illegal fees.

Assets issues for public benefits

Leaving with Relatives Occupancy restrictions (city codes) Issues when applying for public

benefits (how many households leaving in the same unit)