COVID-19
Cal/OSHA Emergency Standards action cited by ag, business group
In response to the decision Feb. 26 of the Superior Court to deny motions for preliminary injunctions restraining the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board from enforcing the Emergency Temporary Standards, a coalition of... more »
Colorado food and ag workers eligible for COVID-19 vaccine distribution
On Feb. 26, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Brigadier General Scott Sherman and Scott Bookman, Incident Commander with the Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment provided a much anticipated announcement that the state will enter... more »
Coronavirus Food Assistance Program application deadline extended
USDA announced it has extended the deadline to apply for the latest round of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. The original deadline was Feb. 26. But according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the new deadline... more »
Michigan ag workers gain March 1 access to COVID-19 vaccine
The Michigan Department of Health of Human Services announced Feb. 15 a new program to enhance the state’s equity strategy to reach more Michiganders with the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. As part of the... more »
State departments of agriculture request spending flexibility to protect farm workers
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture sent a letter Feb. 8 to U.S. Acting Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Shea to request additional flexibility for states’ use of Specialty Crop Block Grants included in the... more »
Food, ag workers at top list for those most at-risk of COVID-19 death
A University of California, San Francisco study of the jobs at most risk for death from COVID-19 shows line cooks, machine operators, agricultural workers, bakers, and construction laborers at the top of the list. The... more »
OSHA issues stronger COVID-19 guidance
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued stronger COVID-19 Guidance. Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace was posted Jan. 29. Summary: This guidance is intended to... more »
Washington state’s Evans Fruit fined $150K For COVID-19 violations
A Yakima, Washington, area fruit grower and processor has been fined more than $150,000 by the Washington state Department of Labor & Industries Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) for violating COVID-19 workplace requirements designed to... more »
USDA freezes $2.3B supplemental Coronavirus Food Assistance Program
USDA announced Jan. 27 that $2.3 billion in supplemental Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) payments will be temporarily frozen. “In accordance with the White House memo, Regulatory Freeze Pending Review, USDA has suspended the processing and... more »
UC Davis launches $3M project to improve farmworker COVID-19 safety
California’s 800,000 farmworkers have been hit hard by COVID-19, the disease that has infected more than 25 million people and killed more than 420,000 in the United States. Farmworkers are especially vulnerable to the airborne... more »