North Carolina, Raleigh-  The salary of a farm worker in North Carolina is stipulated by law and no rancher is entitled to pay less than the minimum per day of work.

As explained to Enlace Latino NC  Justin Flores, vice president of FLOC, the union that supports the migrant farm workers, the minimum wage earned by a day laborer in 2021 is $7.25 per hour, as in the rest of the jobs in North Carolina. However, the figure amounts to $13.15 dollars per hour for workers migrants with H-2A visa.

All those people who carry out their shifts and tasks in fields where H-2A workers are hired, they must also earn that amount per working day.

Independent of Immigration Status

In these cases, it does not matter whether the person who works as a day laborer in the United States has US citizenship, is a permanent resident, or is undocumented in the US; or if has a visa that allowed him entry.

“In conclusion, the salary of an agricultural worker in North Carolina is USD $7.25 in the fields where there are no H-2A visa day laborers hired; and $13.15 dollars in the fields where there are. Regardless of whether you have that visa or not,” Flores summarized.

Since this is an amount established by law, as long as ranchers pay less than what is due, farm laborers have the right to file a lawsuit. Such a lawsuit could result in a payment of double the amount of wages owed to them.

However, as Flores explains, ranchers sometimes use different illegal maneuvers to try to pay less.

Find out how much a day laborer or agricultural worker earns in 2023

This is the salary of workers with H2A Visa in the US states in 2023  

Maneuvers used by ranchers to pay less than the salary of a farm worker in North Carolina 

“There are many ways to steal workers' money,” says Flores. He also points out that one of the most common ways is to refuse to reimburse expenses visa and transfer of H-2A workers.

It happens that within the H-2A program, the rancher must reimburse the visa and transfer costs of the workers. Those costs include travel from your home country to the workplace. 

“A contracted worker can pay something like $120 dollars for the visa process; plus transportation from his house to Monterrey and from Monterrey to North Carolina, which can cost USD $400 or $500. Many times employers refuse to pay it, as established by law, which is considered wage theft,” adds the FLOC vice president.

Secondly, Flores explains that there are certain tasks that according to the law should be paid and that ranchers often try not to pay. “For example, there are colleagues who drive the van to take other colleagues to work. That driving time must be paid and many times the rancher does not pay for it.”

Help for Farm Workers

La guide for agricultural workers North Carolina Legal Aid includes other tasks that day laborers are entitled to receive, although ranchers often try to avoid payment:

• The time the worker must wait for the dew to dry on the leaves of the plants he is going to pick.
• The time it takes the worker to eat his lunch, if less than 30 minutes.
• The time that the worker must wait at the place of employment while the machinery he needs to work is being fixed.
• The time it takes for the worker to transport himself from one field to another after he arrives at his workplace.

What is a Day Laborer?  In the United States, a day laborer is a worker hired to perform temporary work that does not require a professional degree. They are generally manual tasks that do not require skilled labor, such as those related to work in the fields, agriculture, construction, and the service industry such as hospitality.

Day laborers earn a salary per hour, day or task.

Generally these jobs are offered by organizations and companies that sponsor H2A and H2B Temporary Work Visas

Payment for production 

Flores clarifies that payment for production, for example, per bucket harvested, is not illegal in itself. However, it often also becomes a maneuver by ranchers to pay less than the salary of a farm worker in North Carolina.

“The law states that in certain crops it is valid to pay by the bucket, but in any case the worker is supposed to always earn more than the minimum wage. The $13.15 dollars an hour is a floor. Pay for production can only function as an incentive to earn more than that, not less,” he details. 

How should a farm worker's salary be paid in North Carolina? 

The law establishes that the salary of a agricultural worker in North Carolina it can be paid either in cash, by check or through direct bank deposit. However, under any of these modalities, the day laborer must receive a check stub that includes a detail of the hours worked, the buckets harvested (if he charges for production) and the exact amount of any deduction on what he earns.

“That is what the law states,” Flores clarifies. In practice, as in the previous points, something else often happens. In this context of great labor informality, North Carolina Legal Aid recommends that the worker take some precautions:

• Save all your check stubs. If the employer doesn't give them to you, demand them or ask for a receipt.
• Keep track of hours worked. 
• Compare your record of hours worked with the pay stubs the employer gives you.

How to know you are paid according to the law

To check if their labor rights are being complied with and they are paying them what they should earn, the day laborer can perform a simple calculation at the end of the week. Divide the total payment by the hours worked. If the number you get is less than $13.15 dollars, the employer must pay you the difference.

What happens if the number is higher?  

If when doing the calculation, the laborer finds that the number is greater, there is no violation of the contract. The reason is because the established salary that you earn by law is a minimum amount and not a maximum.

Where to get help filing a claim for farmworker wages in North Carolina? 

If you have any salary irregularities, you can contact the agricultural workers unit of North Carolina Legal Help on their website http://www.farmworkerlanc.org or by calling (800) 777-5869.

If you prefer you can write by WhatsApp at (919) 523-6665.

To contact with FLOC call (919) 731 4433.

You may be interested:  Heat stroke: know how to prevent it and know your rights

Review: September 2023 

Republish This Story

Republish our stories for free on your website or newspaper. We follow the Creative Commons license. Click the box and follow the instructions.

close window

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

"This article may be republished for free under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Enlace Latino NC authorizes the reproduction of this content in newspapers and digital platforms, provided that the integrity of the text is maintained and that it is cited Enlace Latino NC and the author of the story to be republished as the primary source. If you publish the story in a digital news outlet or website, you must include a link to our website: www.enlacelatinonc.org

If you wish to make edits to the content to be republished, please contact our editorial team at walter@enlacelatinonc.org to obtain the corresponding permit."

What is the salary of a farm worker in North Carolina?

by Nicolás Baintrub, Enlace Latino NC
July 22, 2021

Enlace Latino NC July 22, 2021 North Carolina, Raleigh - Farmworker wages in North Carolina are set by law, and no farmer is entitled to less than the minimum wage per day's work. As explained toEnlace LatinoNC Justin Flores, vice president of FLOC, the union that supports migrant farm workers , said the minimum wage for a farmworker in 2021 was $7.25 an hour, the same as for other jobs in North Carolina.  However, the figure rises to $13.15 per hour for migrant workers with H-2A visas . All those people who carry out their workdays and tasks in fields where H-400A workers are hired must also earn that amount per workday. Regardless of Immigration Status In these cases, it does not matter whether the person working as a day laborer in the United States is a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident, or is undocumented in the U.S. or whether they have a visa that has allowed them to enter. “In conclusion, the wage of a farmworker in North Carolina is $2 in fields where there are no H-2A visa workers hired; and $2 in fields where there are. “Regardless of whether you have that visa or not,” Flores summarized. Since this is a statutory amount, farmworkers have the right to file a lawsuit whenever ranchers pay less than their fair share. Such a claim could result in a payment of double the amount of wages owed to them. However, as Flores explains, ranchers sometimes use various illegal maneuvers to try to pay less. Find out how much a day laborer or agricultural worker earns in 400This is the salary of workers with H2023A Visa in the US states in 2 Maneuvers ranchers use to pay less than a farm worker's wage in North Carolina “There are many ways to steal workers’ money,” Flores says. He also notes that one of the most common ways is to refuse to reimburse visa and travel expenses for H-2A workers. It turns out that within the H-20A program, the rancher must reimburse the visa and transfer costs of the workers. These costs include travel from your home country to the workplace. “A hired worker can pay something like $120 for the visa process; plus transportation from their home to Monterrey and from Monterrey to North Carolina, which can cost USD $400 or $500. Employers often refuse to pay it, as required by law, which is considered wage theft,” adds the vice president of FLOC. Secondly, Flores explains that there are certain tasks that according to the law should be remunerated and that ranchers often try not to pay. “For example, there are colleagues who drive the van to take other colleagues to work. That driving time must be paid for and many times the rancher does not pay for it.” Aid for Farm Workers North Carolina Legal Aid's farmworker guide lists other tasks that farmworkers are entitled to get paid for, although ranchers often try to avoid payment: The time that the worker must wait for the dew to dry on the leaves of the plants he is going to pick. The time it takes the worker to eat his lunch, if it is less than 2 minutes. The time that the worker must wait at the workplace while the machinery he needs to work is being fixed. The time it takes a worker to travel from one field to another after arriving at his or her workplace. What is a Day Laborer? In the United States, a day laborer is a worker hired to perform temporary work that does not require a professional degree. They are generally manual tasks that do not require skilled labor, such as those related to field work, agriculture, construction, and the service industry such as the hotel industry. Day laborers earn a wage per hour, per day, or per task. These jobs are generally offered by organizations and companies that sponsor H2023A and H2B Temporary Work Visas. Payment for production Flores clarifies that payment for production, for example, per bucket harvested, is not illegal in itself. However, it often becomes a ploy by ranchers to pay less than the wages of a farmworker in North Carolina. “The law states that for certain crops it is valid to pay by the bucket, but it is assumed that in any case the worker must always earn more than the minimum wage. $13.15 an hour is a floor. "Payment by production can only serve as an incentive to earn more than that, not less," he explains. How should an agricultural worker's wages be paid in North Carolina? The law states that the wages of an agricultural worker in North Carolina can be paid in cash, by check, or through direct bank deposit. However, under any of these modalities, the day laborer must receive a pay stub that includes a detail of the hours worked, the buckets harvested (if he is paid by production) and the exact amount of any deductions from what he earns. “That is what the law says,” Flores clarifies. In practice, as in the previous points, something else often happens. In this context of great labor informality, Legal Aid of North Carolina recommends that workers take some precautions: Keep all your check stubs. If your employer does not provide them to you, demand them or ask for a receipt. Keep track of hours worked. Compare your record of hours worked with the pay stubs your employer gives you. How to know if you are paid according to the law To check whether their labour rights are being respected and they are being paid what they should earn, the day labourer can perform a simple calculation at the end of the week. Divide the total payment by the hours worked. If the number you get is less than $13.15, your employer has to pay you the difference. What happens if the number is higher? If, upon calculation, the laborer finds that the number is greater, there is no breach of contract . The reason is because the established salary that he earns by law is a minimum amount and not a maximum. Where to apply for help filing a farmworker wage claim in North Carolina? For any wage irregularities, you may contact the North Carolina Legal Aid Farmworker Unit at their website http://www.farmworkerlanc.org or by calling (400) 2-2. If you prefer, you can write via WhatsApp at (400) 800-777. To contactFLOC , call (919) 731 4433. You may be interested in: Heatstroke: learn how to prevent it and know your rights Revision: September 2023 This article first appeared onEnlace Latino NCand is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: "https://enlacelatinonc.org/cual-es-el-salario-de-un-trabajador-agricola-en-carolina-del-norte/", urlref: window.location.href }); } }

Copy to clipboard