Agricultural Worker Justice Act

The Agricultural Worker Justice Act (H.R. 4978) would establish new labor and safety requirements for food companies seeking to do business with the federal government. Under this bill, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) would be prohibited from awarding contracts to companies that pay workers less than the local prevailing wage or have a history of serious labor law violations.

The legislation also introduces specific protections for meat and poultry processing workers, such as guaranteed bathroom breaks and a ban on attendance policies that penalize employees for taking sick leave. Additionally, the bill would increase funding for safety inspectors and require the government to study the use of temporary and undocumented labor in the food industry to ensure fair treatment across the workforce.