USDA Wage Report
USDA released the quarterly farm labor wage report for April 2021 this week. The Northeast 1 region, which includes New York and the New England states, reported hourly field worker wages at $16.18, livestock workers at $14.62, and the combined rate at $15.55. These are up over last year at 6%, 2%, and 4.7%, respectively. Overall U.S. wages for the same time period and same three groups were: $15.19, $14.81, and $15.06. It’s important to note that these are gross hourly wages, meaning that they capture the wages paid for both regular and overtime hours, any in-kind pay like milk, meat, or vegetables, and all before taxes. They do not, however, reflect the value of any other benefits such as housing, transportation, health insurance, etc. Think of it as the cash wage rate for frontline agricultural workers, not including first-line supervisors or other managers. Nationally, the wage rate in April 2021 for first-line farm supervisors was $22.50.
EEOC COVID Updates
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a key federal regulator for many civil rights laws. They have been heavily involved with interpreting and applying these laws as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold. Their May 28 press release provides a few important updates to their COVID-19 guidance for employers.
- Federal EEO laws do not prevent employers from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for employees, but employers need to be careful not to discriminate against some groups who face barriers to vaccination.
- Employers are not prevented from offering incentives to encourage employees to get vaccinated.
- Employers can provide information to employees and their families to educate them about vaccination.
By Richard Stup, Cornell University. Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution. The post USDA Wage Report and EEOC’s COVID Updates appeared first in The Ag Workforce Journal.
