Farmworkers are vigilant about COVID-19 prevention practices outside of the workplace

Nearly all workers (90%) reported taking precautions to protect their families when
they arrive home. We also found that workers with children in the household reported
higher rates of household hygiene practices than those without children.

Farmworkers are unable to read or understand important safety and other resource communications

Despite the high numbers of indigenous speaking workers in CA and in our survey, indigenous workers were less likely to receive visual education 16% of our sample completed the survey in a native indigenous language. CBDIO who serves indigenous communities, completed 36% of all surveys, yet, 8 in 10 workers received a talk, 4 in 10 received a handout, fewer than 1 in 5 received a PPE demonstration.

Farmworkers lack healthcare access and experience fear using medical services.

More than half (59%) of all workers reported a lack of insurance/costs as a barrier to healthcare access, followed by a lack of sick leave (15%), fear of authorities/government (13%) and distrust of the medical system (9%). The majority of these barriers represent long-standing barriers un-related to COVID-19 which may be exacerbated by COVID.

Farmworkers experienced dramatic loss of work and income, but are also systematically excluded from important safety-net programs

Slightly more than half (52%) of all farmworkers reported decreased work time and income losses. Workers who reported lost income, were more likely to report excess burdens than those who did not experience income losses. Higher rates of financial burdens were also reported among workers who had children.

Farmworkers experienced a lack of communication and transparency at worksites.

54% of workers received masks from employers, but mask provision varied by employer type. Only 23% of farmworkers were satisfied with employer safety responses and suggest that workplace education and engagement needs to be tailored to growers, packing houses, and farm labor contractors.

Farmworkers feared repercussions for speaking on health and safety topics.

More than half (58%) of farmworkers reported changes in hygiene at worksites. But most of these changes were due to cleaning and provision of supplies. Less than 10% of workers reported additional bathrooms.