Ruling For Workers

Last week the Washington State Supreme Court issued a ruling that would allow orchard workers in the Lower Yakima Valley to receive part of a $1 million judgment in a case alleging that they worked years for an unlicensed farm labor contractor and the case could have further implications when it comes to the definition of a farm labor contractor. Mike Gempler, Executive Director of the Washington Growers League.

GEMPLER: It was not unexpected. We assumed that this would be the ruling based on the previous rulings that this particular Supreme Court has made. They're very much in favor of labor and farm labor issues and so it was not a surprise.

But as mentioned this ruling changes the playing field for farm labor contractors.

GEMPLER: Just about any kind of activity in which farmers share labor or loan labor, harvest crews, that kind of thing where there's any kind of money or anything of value involved, just a reimbursement of wages or gas or anything that will end up being considered a fee and if it's considered a fee that means there's a farm labor contractors license required. This means that a lot of activities that people considered to be casual now require farm labor contracting licenses.

The state high court's ruling grew out of a defendants' appeal in a federal lawsuit filed in 2012 by workers at three Lower Valley orchards near Sunnyside.

That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.