FA R M
L A B O R
I N F O R M AT I O N
B U L L E T I N
Voice of the Fields California
March 2018
FREE
DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD ARRIVAL
DACA Update
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N 2012, President Barack Obama issued an executive order called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) that allowed undocumented immigrants who came to the U. S. under the age of 16 to apply for protection from deportation. After a background check, these individuals would be able to obtain renewable twoyear permits that would allow them to work and study in the United States. Since 2012, DACA has protected about 800,000 people.
Since its enactment, many conservatives have been against it. In 2017, a group of Republican-led states threatened to challenge the program in court. As a result, on September 5, 2017 Attorney General Jeff Sessions stated that President Donald Trump’s administration was rescinding DACA. It was specified that Congress would have until March 5, 2018 to pass a replacement bill before the Trump administration would begin to phase the program out indefinitely. The announcement meant that any applications submitted after September 5, 2017 would be rejected, while those filed before that date would be decided on in a case-by-case basis. Those with DACA protection expiring before March 5, 2018 would be allowed to apply for a renewal until October 5, 2017. On January 9, 2018 a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to resume receiving renewal applications for individuals eligible for the DACA pro-
gram. This federal court order meant that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would have to operate in the same way that it had before DACA was rescinded in September 2017. The federal court order only involved resuming renewals, meaning that it did not apply to those that had never received DACA protections previously. This occurred the same day that President Trump met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers at the White House to discuss a legislative solution. During this meeting, Trump suggested that he would be willing to support broader changes to immigration law in order to help the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. The bipartisan discussion on DACA changed between January 11 and January 15, 2018 due to President Trump’s use of vulgar language to describe the countries of origin of several immigrant groups. On January 16, 2018 the U.S. Justice
Volume 28, Number 3 Department announced that it would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the federal court order that forced them to resume accepting DACA renewal applications. They also said they would appeal the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. At this point, a solution to DACA became the condition for many Senate Democrats to vote in favor of a shortterm measure to fund the government. This measure was needed to keep federal agencies across the country running temporarily until a long-term spending bill was negotiated. When no solution was reached, the government was shut down on January 20, 2018. Because no solution was reached on the short-term measure to fund the government, federal agencies across the country shut down for several days due to lack of funding. On January 22, 2018 the Senate held a vote that resulted in the reopening of the government. The government was reopened without a legislative solution for DACA recipients, also known as Dreamers, based on a promise by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to take up an immigration bill that would protect the estimated 800,000 eligible Dreamers from deportation. The only solution for protecting Dreamers now is for Congress to pass legislation on DACA by March 5, 2018. The challenge will be to find a bipartisan solution. Republicans and the President Continued on page 6
Center for Employment Training
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HE CENTER FOR EMPLOYMENT TRAINING or CET has been promoting human development and education since 1967. CET is an economic and community development corporation that provides marketable skills training and supportive services to people of all educational levels and backgrounds, especially those most in need. These supportive services contribute to a life of self-sufficiency. CET aims to help others get the skills they need for meaningful work and a better life. CET Testimonial
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ET has provided many individuals with the chance to learn and grow. They have placed these individuals in better careers, helping achieve self-sufficiency, and moving families out of poverty. Below is a testimonial of a hard-working individual that was successful like many others CET has helped since 1967. Martha Avila spent twenty years of her life packaging vegetables. She would often rise at 1 or 2 a.m., arrive at the pick-up site and then pile into a bus to be transported 1-2 hours to Coachella or Yuma, Arizona. The persistent and unrelenting heat of the Imperial Valley and nearby regions made work in summer months dreadful. Being a single mother of four, she was trying to provide as best she could. Her parents were a big help, taking the kids to school and preparing meals. Martha would get home from a long day of work with only a mere couple of hours to spend with her children. She was often too exhausted to manage anything other than eating a meal and watching some TV with them for the short periods of time they had together. It came to the point where she began realizing she could not sustain this life for much longer. She began thinking about trying to do something other than farm work. “I never liked working in stores, salesman or cashier,” Martha states. She had worked as a cashier at some point, but found it very stressful. However, truck driving had interested Martha for as long as she could remember. Her son, Jesus Fernandez, had enrolled in the Green Building Construction Skills training program at CET in March 2015 and had qualified for the NFJP grant as a dependent of hers. When he graduated, he began working as a solar installer earning $14 per hour. By the time his mother was touring CET’s Truck Driver program, he had already received a raise to $16 per hour. In seeing his success, Martha seized the opportunity to obtain training. She came to CET in El Centro to begin training as a Truck Driver, an opportunity which she feels she would not have had if not for the financial support that was provided through the farm worker funding. She explained that having the tuition paid allowed her to begin training, but the additional money received through the stipend allowed her to remain and complete training. In conjunction, she applied for food stamps and relied heavily upon unemployment benefits to sustain herself and her family. Training commenced for Martha on August 26, 2016. The transition from work to training was easy; she was excited and eager to learn. Within six short months, she had successfully completed training and was ready for work. She recounts with pride, “My Instructor, Alex Santoyo, recommended me to my boss. I left school on Friday February 24 and on Monday, I started working.”
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CET offers programs in different areas, such as Business, Childcare, Construction and Building Maintenance, Culinary, Medical, Technical Trades, and Truck Driving. CET offers support staff that can help with any information about CET, admission steps, or help with financial applications. To get more information visit the website at cetweb. edu to find the nearest location to you and to see what programs they offer. Continued on page 6
CET Locations Coachella
San Diego
49-111 Highway 111, Suite 5 Coachella, CA 92236 (760) 398-8889
4153 Market Street, Suite C San Diego, CA 92102 (619) 527-4895
Colton
San Jose
El Centro
Santa Maria
1099 N. Pepper Ave. Colton, CA 92324 (909) 478-3818 294 South 3rd Street El Centro, CA 92243 (760) 337-6565
Oxnard
701 Vine Street San Jose, CA 95110 (408} 534-5360 509 W Morrison Ave. Santa Maria, CA 93458 (805) 928-1737
Soledad
761 South C Street Oxnard, CA 93030 (805) 487-9821
930 Los Coches Drive Soledad, CA 93960 (831) 678-0448
Sacramento
Watsonville
8376 Fruitridge Road Sacramento, CA 95828 (916) 393-7401
Salinas
421 Monterey Street Salinas, CA 93901 (831) 424-0665
10 Blanca Lane Watsonville, CA 95076 (831) 728-4551 Source: cetweb.edu/locations/
What is The Fair Labor Standards Act?
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HE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT (FLSA) is the federal law that sets minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards for most employment. Until 1966, the FLSA excluded farmworkers. Now, it applies the minimum wage and recordkeeping provisions to most agricultural workers and employers. Under federal law, if you are employed in agriculture, you are exempt from overtime pay provisions. You do not have to be paid time and one half of your regular rate for hours worked in excess of forty hours per week. If your job is related to agriculture, but does not meet the definition of agriculture contained in the FLSA, you may be eligible to be paid overtime. In 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the California farmworker overtime bill (AB 1066). This bill stated that overtime wages for agricultural workers would increase incrementally over four years ultimately matching other industries by requiring time-and-a-half pay for more than 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Under this AB 1066 law, at the start of 2019 (or 2022 for farms with 25 or fewer employees), working more than 9.5 hours a day or 55 hours a week will entitle an employee to time-anda-half pay. Then it will drop to more than 9 hours a day or 50 hours a week in 2020 (or 2023 for small farms). In 2021 (or 2024 for small farms), it will change to 8.5 hours a day or 45 hours a week. Finally, in 2022 (or 2025 for small farms) it will reach the 8 hours a day or 40 hours per week threshold. According to the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), agriculture ranks among the most dangerous industries. This is because Farmworkers are exposed to numerous safety, health, environmental, biological, and respiratory hazards. Agricultural operations are covered by several OSHA standards including Agriculture (29 CFR 1928), General Industry (29 CFR 1910), and General Duty Clause. These standards require employers to establish a work environment that is free from recognized hazards that can lead to death or serious injury. Some of these hazards may include: vehicle rollovers, heat exposure, falls, musculoskeletal injuries, hazardous equipment, unsanitary conditions, pesticides, and more. If you have questions about your farmworker wage and safety rights in the workplace, please visit the websites or call the phone numbers provided in the resources section at right. Note: U.S. farmworkers employed under an H-2A contract performing the same duties as their foreign counterparts engage in what is called “Corresponding Employment” and have specific H-2A program rights. For a disclosure of these rights, H-2A Jobs available, and other H-2A program information or complaints,
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visit your closest America’s Job Center of California (AJCC) and ask an EDD representative.
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The Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor helps all workers in the United States, and enforces the law without regard to a worker’s immigration status. If your employer does not follow the law, or if you have any questions, call them at 1-8666-487-9243 or visit www.dol.gov/whd. Workers have the right to a safe workplace. OSHA can help answer questions or concerns about health and safety in the workplace. Please call them at 1-800-321-6742 or visit www. osha.gov/oshdir/ca.html to find a regional office near you. The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement’s (DLSE) duty is to combat wage theft, protect workers from retaliation, and educate the public. If you would like to learn about your rights as a worker, file a wage claim, report a labor law violation, file a public works complaint, or file a retaliation complaint, please visit the DLSE website www.dir. ca.gov/dlse/.
Sources: www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs12.htm www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/dlseLaws.html www.osha.gov/dsg/topics/agriculturaloperations/index.html www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/ article101400142.html
Earned Income Tax Credit
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ARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT (EITC) is a benefit for working individuals with low to moderate income. If you qualify for the Federal EITC, you may also qualify for the same tax credit offered in California. These are both designed to put money back into the pockets of low-income individuals that are the backbone of our country and state. To claim EITC You Must Meet FEDERAL QUALIFICATIONS: Certain Criteria: What is Federal EITC? EITC provides a boost to workers, their families and the communities where they live. It helps with food, gas, clothing, saving for a rainy day and more.
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Are you Eligible for Federal EITC?
To receive the credit, you must have income from work for your employer or someone else, work for yourself, a business or farm you own or operate, or some disability plans. And, you must either meet additional rules for workers without a qualifying child or have a child that meets all the qualifying child rules for you. Use the EITC Assistant on www. irs.gov/EITC to see if you qualify by answering a few questions and to find out your filing status.
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Must Work and Have Earned Income Must Have a Social Security Number Must File a Federal Tax Return: Married Filing Jointly Head of Household Qualifying Widow or Widower Single Must Meet Income Criteria
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For answers to any questions regarding the EITC tax credit please go to the IRS website at www.irs.gov or call 1-800-829-1040. Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA): The VITA program offers free tax preparation help to people who generally make $54,000 or less, persons with disabilities, the
Federal Qualifying Chart Number of Qualifying Children
Single, Head of Household or Widowed
Married Filing Jointly
Federal EITC Maximum Credits
None
$14,880
$20,430
$506
1
$39,296
$44,846
$3,373
2
$44,648
$50,198
$5,572
3 or more
$47,955
$53,505
$6,269
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elderly and limited English-speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals. For more information, please visit the website at www.irs. gov or call 1-800-906-9887.
CALIFORNIA STATE QUALIFICATIONS: What is the California EITC?
The California EITC tax credit is designed to put money in the pockets of low-income working families and individuals. Claiming this credit is easy.
Are You Eligible for California’s EITC?
This cash-back credit is applicable if you have work income, you can file and claim your EITC refunds, even if you don’t owe any income tax. Claiming your EITC is easy. Just file your state tax returns. California EITC requires filing of your state return (form 540 2EZ or 540) and having earned income reported on a W-2 form (i.e. wages, salaries, and tips) subject to California withholding. Selfemployment income cannot be used to qualify for state credit. You qualify for Cal EITC for the 2017 tax year if: n You have wages, self-employment income and adjusted gross income within certain limits n You, your spouse, and any qualifying children each have a Social Security Number issued by the Social
California Qualifying Chart Number of Qualifying Children
State EITC Income Limits
State EITC Maximum Credits
None
$6,717
$217
1
$10,087
$1,452
2
$14,161
$2,406
3 or more
$14,161
$2,706
Security Administration that is valid for employment n You do not use the “married/RDP filing separately” filing status n You lived in California for more than half the tax year. This year the California EITC is bigger and better. Starting with the 2017 tax year, families earning up to $22,300 may qualify for CalEITC, which is a dramatic increase of the upper income limit over past years. Also those who earned self-employment income in 2017 may qualify. For the 2017 tax year, this credit is available to California households with adjusted gross incomes of up to $15,008 if there are no qualifying children, up to $22,322 if there is one qualifying child, up to $22,309 if there are two qualifying children, and up to $22,302 if there are three or more qualifying children. See below the chart for specific EITC credit information. The EITC refunds are not counted as income when your CalWorks, CalFresh or Medi-Cal benefits are calculated. For more details, please contact your eligibility worker.
Get your eitc cash back refund for free!
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You may qualify for a cash back tax credit! If you make less than: - you may be eligible for the CalEITC - you may be eligible for the federal EITC
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Qualify for the EITC? To get your cash back tax credit, file your tax returns for free at a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) location in your neighborhood, starting February 1st.
Visit CalEITC4Me.org! Find free tax help at a VITA location near you that will help you get your cash back tax credit. Don’t miss the deadline to file on April 18, 2017.
for the latest information and resources on EITC, visit Caleitc4me.org Text MONEY to (760) 970-8396 to find out how much EITC money you could get back!
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Franchise Tax Board (FTB): File your free state tax return directly to FTB by using California file online services. For more information, please contact FTB at 1-800-852-5711 or visit the website at www.ftb.ca.gov. CalEITC: For more information on eligibility visit www.caleitc4me.org and use the CalEITC Calculator to determine how much money you can get back. To find convenient free tax preparation sites in your neighborhood, please use www.caleitc4me.org.
Sources: www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/faq/net/900.shtml www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earnedincome-tax-credit/do-i-qualify-for-earned-income-taxcredit-eitc www.eitc.irs.gov www.cdss.ca.gov/Earned-Income-Tax-Credit
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Voice of the Fields California Circulation: 45,000 copies
www.LaCooperativa.org Published monthly by: La Cooperativa Campesina de California 1107 9th Street, Suite 420, Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone 916.388.2220 Fax 916.388.2425 This product was funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The opinions expressed in this product are exclusive of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes is permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner. Content produced by ALZA Strategies, a full-service strategy firm that offers quality media relations, crisis communications, public affairs services, and expertise into the growing Latino market.
DACA Continued from page 1
CET Continued from page 2
insist on a DACA bill that also includes border security and other measures to deter illegal immigration that Democrats are not likely to support. The Supreme Court has weighed in on Trump’s request to make DACA obsolete. As of February 26, 2018 DACA will continue to remain in effect while Trump asks the federal appeals court to overturn a federal judge’s ruling in order to make the DACA program obsolete and continue mass deportation in 2018. This ruling is a small success in helping the 700,000 Dreamers currently enrolled in the DACA program. In order to have a complete solution congress must find a bipartisan bill to support the Dreamers across the country.
How to Apply
Sources: www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2018/jan/22/ timeline-daca-trump-administration-and-government-/ www.cnn.com/2018/01/02/politics/daca-explained/ index.html
EDDResources Resources EDD
www.edd.ca.gov
The Center for Employment Training believes that everyone deserves the dignity of self-sufficiency by moving people out of poverty and into a brighter future by helping them develop necessary skills. CET has open enrollment and will easily get you into a job-training program once you go through the simple admissions process. In order to apply, the first step is to meet with an advisor. This advisor will help you every step of the way, reviewing qualifications for financial aid, program details, and finally enrolling you so you can start your career right away. For more information on campuses located in California, visit cetweb.edu or view the resources on page 2.
Workforce Services General Questions/ AJCC Locator ...............(916) 654-7799 CalJOBSSM ....................... 1-800-758-0398 Monitor Advocate, Toll Free hotline to report Employment or Service related complaints ....................1-866-289-8356 EDD Unemployment Insurance English: ...........................1-800-300-5616 Spanish: .........................1-800-326-8937 Disability Insurance English............................ 1-800-480-3287 Spanish ...........................1-866-658-8846 Paid Family Leave English............................ 1-877-238-4373 Spanish .......................... 1-877-379-3819
Agricultural Jobs available to U.S. workers under H-2A contract
You may apply for these jobs by phone or in person at your nearest Employment Development Department (EDD) field office Job Number
Job Title
Crop
Pay Rate
Start Date
End Date
Positions
County
America’s Job Centers of California (AJCC)
15832458
Harvest, Tractor-Machine Driver, CalVan Driver
Lettuce, Romaine, Mixed Leaf, Spinach/ Tender Leaf
$13.18/hr.
04/02/18
11/21/18
225
Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz
Salinas AJCC 730 La Guardia Street Salinas, CA 93905 831-796-3600
15819884
Harvest
Strawberry
$13.18/hr.
04/01/18
10/31/18
223
Santa Cruz, Santa Clara , Monterey
Salinas AJCC 730 La Guardia Street Salinas, CA 93905 831-796-3601
15830674
Harvest, Gen Labor
Vegetables
$13.18/hr.
04/09/18
11/21/18
205
Monterey, Santa Cruz
Salinas AJCC 730 La Guardia Street Salinas, CA 93905 831-796-3602
15835929
Harvest
Strawberry
$13.18/hr.
04/15/18
11/30/18
175
Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo
Santa Maria AJCC 1410 South Broadway, Suite A Santa Maria, CA 93454 805-614-1550
15827723
Harvest, Gen Labor, Forklift Driver, CalVan Driver
Cherries, Kiwis, Plums, Plum Cherries
$13.18/hr.
04/02/18
07/07/18
160
Fresno, Kings, Tulare
Brawley AJCC 860 Main St. Brawley, CA 92227 760-344-2131
The H-2A temporary agricultural program allows agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring nonimmigrant foreign workers to the U.S. to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature. The H-2A employers must demonstrate that qualified U.S. workers are not available for the job and the employment of temporary foreign workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed. Preference in hiring will be given to qualified U.S. workers before employers are allowed to bring in foreign workers under the program.
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