The Stemilt Growers facility in East Wenatchee. (Credit: Douglas County Assessor’s Office) Listen (Runtime 1:06) Read Two central Washington companies, Pace International and Stemilt Growers, face a combined $650,000 in […]Read More
Images recorded by Skagit County farmworkers who worked amidst the smoke in recent weeks. From Community to Community. Listen (Runtime 2:09) Read The emergency rules protecting outdoor workers from wildfire […]Read More
El calor puede afectar gravemente a quienes trabajan al aire libre. Por el peligro que supone trabajar con calor extremo, el Departamento de Trabajo e Industrias de Washington, (L&I, por sus siglas en inglés), está elaborando normas permanentes para proteger a estos trabajadores. Por el momento, hay normas de emergencia en vigor hasta septiembre. Sin embargo, los Read More
Grape crop. Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash. Listen (Runtime 3:49) Read Heat can severely affect outdoor workers. Because of the danger of working in extreme heat, the Washington Department […]Read More
A Sumner, Washington seafood company that makes imitation crab and other products has been fined $56,000 in connection with a 2021 COVID outbreak that left one employee dead.Read More
Washington on Friday became the second state in the Pacific Northwest in as many days to announce emergency rules that provide farmworkers and others who work outdoors more protection from hot weather in the wake of an extreme heat wave that is believed to have killed hundreds of people.Read More
Three Mid-Columbia farms are among those receiving the biggest fines in the state from the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries for serious violations of agriculture regulations to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. More than 20 farms have been cited for inadequate COVID precautions, The Tri-City Herald reported.Read More
Many of the county’s cases have spread in the small town of Brewster, where there is a large tree-fruit growing, packing and shipping industry. According to public health officials, there have been 885 positive cases in Okanogan County –– 518 in Brewster.Read More
In a lawsuit against fruit-growing giant Stemilt, workers say allegations stemmed from a change in production standards set forth in the company's guest worker contract. A separate case involved a challenge to Washington's rules on farmworker housing and sleeping quarters during the pandemic.Read More
One Anytime Fitness franchisee location in Yakima County has been fined nearly $10,000 for staying open despite not being allowed to operate given the county’s current operating phase. It’s the first business fined for ignoring Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Safe Start” measures. Read More
The Department of Labor and Industries finalized the rules Wednesday and will phase them in by 2028. By that time, salaried workers making up to about $83,400 a year will be entitled to time-and-a-half pay if they work more than 40 hours per week.Read More
A sweeping proposal by the state Department of Labor and Industries could grant overtime pay to thousands more workers in Washington. Currently, workers are guaranteed overtime pay if their salary is under $24,000 a year. The proposal would gradually raise that threshold to about $80,000 by 2026.Read More
The enforcement action this week by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries follows a months-long investigation triggered by three violent patient-on-nurse assaults last year at Western State Hospital in Lakewood.Read More
The housing shortage in Yakima is coupled with a farm labor shortage. When workers do come, where do they live? The largest farmworker complex in the state opened in Yakima this month. The revamped FairBridge hotel now hosts 800 beds for temporary farm workers. As it opens, critics think it may set a dangerous precedent: Other farmers might start buying up area housing for Read More
Six years ago, Jose Luis Mendoza lost part of his left leg, and with it, the ability to work as a farm laborer. He now has a lawyer trying to help him get full compensation from the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries.Read More
Workers in Washington are about to get a new benefit. Starting January 1, the state will require all employers to provide paid sick leave.Read More
