In response to the Coronavirus Pandemic, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill (“AB”) 685, requiring employers to notify every employee of potential COVID-19 exposure at the workplace. Governor Newsom signed AB 685 into law and it will go into effect on January 1, 2021. AB 685 will bring the following changes to employers in California:

Expand Cal/OSHA’s Power to Issue Stop Work Orders
AB 685 expands Cal/OSHA’s authority to issue Stop Work Orders for workplaces that pose risk of an “imminent hazard” in relation to COVID-19. This “imminent hazard” is a hazard that threatens immediate and serious physical harm. This allows Cal/OSHA to prohibit entry into a section of a business or place of employment where there is an imminent risk of COVID-19 exposure and requires the immediate area where the imminent hazard exists to be prohibited. Violation of this law order is considered a criminal offense.

Employers Must Notify Employees of COVID-19 Exposures
AB 685 establishes a comprehensive notice procedure that employers must follow, within one (1) business day, when they receive notice of potential exposure to COVID-19:

1. Provide written notice in a manner typically used to communicate to all employees, employers of subcontracted employees, and employee-representatives (e.g., unions), where they may have been exposed to the virus. Employers may send a letter, email, or text message, but only if employees anticipate receiving communication from the employer in this manner. The notification must be in writing and a phone call will not satisfy this requirement. Also, written communication should be in English, and the language understood by the majority of the employees;
2. Provide written notice to all employees and employee representatives regarding COVID-19 related benefits that employees may receive, including paid sick leave, workers’ compensation, and anti-retaliation protections;
3. Notify all employees regarding the Company’s disinfection protocols and safety plan to eliminate any further exposures;
4. Notify California’s Department of Public Health if there are sufficient COVID-19 positive cases that meet the definition of a COVID-19 outbreak.

Fast-Tracks Cal/OSHA’s Citation Procedure
Normally, when Cal/OSHA intends to issue a serious citation, they give an employer some notice of the imminent citation to allow the employer to defend itself before the issuance of the formal citation. AB 685 disperses with the employer’s opportunity to defend itself before the formal issuance of a COVID-19 related-serious citation. Therefore, if Cal/OSHA issues a serious citation, employers should closely monitor the statute of limitations to respond to the citation in a timely manner. Employers should also contact counsel to evaluate the citation since penalties can be shocking.

COUNSEL TO MANAGEMENT
Employers should have a COVID-19 preparedness plan. Employers should develop a plan NOW on how to comply with AB 685—January 1st is looming near. If you have any questions about how this new law will affect your company, contact the experts at The Saqui Law Group.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Pink Bollworm Program has released its report for monitoring Silverleaf Whitefly. The program monitored for whitefly and other cotton pests from September 21, 2020 to October 2, 2020. For the full report, please follow the link below.

In an ongoing effort to bring awareness and educate folks in the cotton industry, Senator Melissa Hurtado reminds folks of the precautions everyone should take during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her messaging is simple, follow the recommended practices to stay safe, such as:

Do your part in slowing the spread of COVID-19 and staying safe. Please share these videos with your family, friends, and employees through social media and/or incorporate the videos into your trainings. The videos are both in English and Spanish.

We would like to give a very special thank you to Senator Melissa Hurtado for joining CCGGA on this important effort to keep everyone safe!

The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Pink Bollworm Program has released its report for monitoring Silverleaf Whitefly. The program monitored for whitefly and other cotton pests from September 7, 2020 to September 18, 2020.  Aphids and whitefly continue to increase.  Growers must remain vigilant against these pests. NO STICKY COTTON! For the full report, please follow the link below.

Silverleaf Whitefly Monitoring Report

As you all know by now, Proposition 15 is on the ballot this year in November, and if passed would create $12.5 billion in new taxes, the largest tax hike in our state’s history.  It would do so by eliminating the 1% cap on property taxes for businesses throughout the state, including agricultural processing facilities such as cotton gins.  In addition, it would trigger annual reassessments for agricultural fixtures, such as irrigation systems, solar installations on farms and processors, barns, and even permanent crop trees and vines.

In a year like 2020, it is difficult to fathom we are facing something like Proposition 15.  For cotton growers and ginners, the time to take a stand is right now! We need every member to contribute!

Therefore, we are respectfully asking each of our members to send us a check for $500 to $1,000 to help specifically on this effort.

Please fill out the attached form and make the check payable to Alliance of California’s Farmers and Ranchers and mail it back to our office at 1785 N. Fine Avenue, Fresno, California, 93727.  If you should have any questions, please call our office at (559)252-0684.

Governor Gavin Newsom has signed SB 1383 (Jackson), which greatly expands employee job protected leave.  Under current law, employers with over 50 employees are subject to the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). CFRA and the FMLA can be taken in increments as small as one hour at a time, and provide employees with twelve weeks of unpaid, job protected leave taken:

• for the birth of a son or daughter, and to bond with the newborn child;
• for the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care, and to bond with that child;
• to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent – but not a parent “in-law”) with a serious health condition;
• for medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition; or
• for qualifying exigencies arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is on covered active duty or call to covered active duty status as a member of the National Guard, Reserves, or Regular Armed Forces.

SB 1383 expands CFRA by applying the 12 weeks of leave to all employers with five or more employees. An employee is only required to provide an employer with “reasonable notice,” and an employer must track the time off as “CFRA leave” or it may not count against the 12 weeks.

SB 1383 also changes requirements for qualifying for CFRA leave by amending the definition of family member for whom the employee can take leave by including a child of a domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or domestic partner. Additionally, SB 1383 removes the requirement that a “child” be under the age of 18 or a dependent adult child. This means that the FMLA and CFRA’s qualifying requirements no longer conform with each other and an employee of an employer with 50 or more employees could take 3 months of leave under CFRA to care for a domestic partner, child of a domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling, return to work, and then take another 3 months off under FMLA for the employee’s own medical condition or the medical condition of a spouse, child or parent or for the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child.   The leave mandated under SB 1383 is enforced through a private right of action that includes compensatory damages, injunctive relief, declaratory relief, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees. Any employee who believes an employer did not properly administer the leave, interfered with the leave, or denied the leave, can commence litigation.   The requirements of SB 1383 will go into effect on January 1, 2021.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced up to an additional $14 billion dollars for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs because of COVID-19. Signup for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) will begin September 21st and run through December 11, 2020.  “America’s agriculture communities are resilient, but still face many challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Secretary Perdue. “We listened to feedback received from farmers, ranchers and agricultural organizations about the impact of the pandemic on our nations’ farms and ranches, and we developed a program to better meet the needs of those impacted.”  Producers can apply for CFAP 2 at USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) county offices. This program provides financial assistance that gives producers the ability to absorb increased marketing costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Producers will be compensated for ongoing market disruptions and assisted with the associated marketing costs.  CFAP 2 payments will be made for three categories of commodities – Price Trigger Commodities, Flat-rate Crops and Sales Commodities.

Price Trigger Commodities
Price trigger commodities are major commodities that meet a minimum 5-percent price decline over a specified period of time. Eligible price trigger crops include barley, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, upland cotton, and all classes of wheat. Payments will be based on 2020 planted acres of the crop, excluding prevented planting and experimental acres. Payments for price trigger crops will be the greater of: 1) the eligible acres multiplied by a payment rate of $15 per acre; or 2) the eligible acres multiplied by a nationwide crop marketing percentage, multiplied by a crop-specific payment rate, and then by the producer’s weighted 2020 Actual Production History (APH) approved yield. If the APH is not available, 85 percent of the 2019 Agriculture Risk Coverage-County Option (ARC-CO) benchmark yield for that crop will be used.

Flat-rate Crops
Crops that either do not meet the 5-percent price decline trigger or do not have data available to calculate a price change will have payments calculated based on eligible 2020 acres multiplied by $15 per acre. These crops include alfalfa, extra-long staple (ELS) cotton, oats, peanuts, rice, hemp, millet, mustard, safflower, sesame, triticale, rapeseed, and several others.

Eligibility
There is a payment limitation of $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined. Applicants who are corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships may qualify for additional payment limits when members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation. In addition, this special payment limitation provision has been expanded to include trusts and estates for both CFAP 1 and 2.

Producers will also have to certify they meet the Adjusted Gross Income limitation of $900,000 unless at least 75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching or forestry-related activities. Producers must also be in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions.

Applying for Assistance
Producers can apply for assistance beginning Sept. 21, 2020. Applications will be accepted through Dec. 11, 2020.  Additional information and application forms can be found at farmers.gov/cfap. Documentation to support the producer’s application and certification may be requested. All other eligibility forms, such as those related to adjusted gross income and payment information, can be downloaded from farmers.gov/cfap/apply. For existing FSA customers, including those who participated in CFAP 1, many documents are likely already on file. Producers should check with FSA county office to see if any of the forms need to be updated.  Customers seeking one-on-one support with the CFAP 2 application process can call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to offer assistance. This is a recommended first step before a producer engages with the team at the FSA county office.

All USDA Service Centers are open for business, including some that are open to visitors to conduct business in person by appointment only. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service or any other Service Center agency should call ahead and schedule an appointment. Service Centers that are open for appointments will pre-screen visitors based on health concerns or recent travel, and visitors must adhere to social distancing guidelines. Visitors are also required to wear a face covering during their appointment. Our program delivery staff will be in the office, and they will be working with our producers in the office, by phone and using online tools. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has announced that the counties of Kings, Riverside and Tulare will participate in Housing for the Harvest, a program announced by Governor Gavin Newsom in July to provide temporary hotel housing options for farm and food processing employees to self-isolate if they are COVID-19 positive and do not require hospitalization, or have been exposed and cannot properly self-isolate at home. Six counties are now participating in Housing for the Harvest: Kings, Riverside, Tulare, Santa Barbara, Fresno and San Joaquin.

The state is securing hotel rooms in participating counties, with local governments identifying administrators to manage the program and local community organizations to provide additional services, like meals, wellness checks and in-language assistance. Local administrators will serve as a point of contact for eligible workers. “Counties across the state are stepping up to provide a safe, temporary housing solution to protect agricultural workers who need to isolate,” said CDFA secretary Karen Ross. “These hardworking men and women are on the front lines of the pandemic and it is critical that we protect them, their families, and local communities.”

Housing for the Harvest will ultimately be made available statewide and provide opt-in housing support for any counties or regions that are interested. California has received FEMA approval for this program during the COVID-19 pandemic and will seek federal reimbursement for 75 percent of hotel costs.

Kings County
Kings County has partnered with Kings Community Action Organization (KCAO) to administer Housing for the Harvest as part of Kings Cares. In addition to hotel quarantine support such as transportation, meals, wellness checks and laundry service, Kings County has allocated resources for financial assistance and additional support for family at home.  Farmworkers and food processing workers in Kings County who are in need of these service are urged to visit www.thehealthyharvest.org or www.cosechasana.org or call 559-710-2000. Please note that personal information gathered through this process will be kept confidential. For agricultural business on-site testing scheduling, please visit www.thehealthyharvest.org.

Riverside County

Riverside County’s Department of Housing, Homelessness Prevention and Workforce Solutions has partnered with the local TODEC Legal Center to manage Housing for the Harvest in the county. The Riverside program will include meals, food, transportation and direct financial assistance of $2,000 for each family participating in the program.  Farmworkers or food processing workers in Riverside County who are in need of these services are urged to contact the TODEC Legal Center at (888) 863-3291 or via email at campo@todec.org. Please note that personal information gathered through this process will be kept confidential.

Tulare County

Tulare County’s program will be administered by Proteus, Inc. in coordination with the county’s Community Care Coalition. Through additional efforts of coalition partners, supplemental services are being offered to support families at home. The Central Valley Community Foundation has formed a regional Healthy Harvest program and will provide additional funding for support services and outreach. These partnerships are crucial to ensure needed outreach and investment in local communities.

Farmworkers and food processing workers in Tulare County who are in need of these services are urged to visit www.thehealthyharvest.org or www.cosechasana.org or call 559-710-2000. Please note that personal information gathered through this process will be kept confidential. For agricultural business on-site testing scheduling, please visit www.thehealthyharvest.org. We will continue to update you as more counties come on line.

The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is excited to officially move into phase two and is recruiting new U.S. growers for enrollment. The Trust Protocol works to ensure the future of U.S. cotton by helping growers tell their sustainability story and ultimately assure Brands and Retailers that they can purchase U.S. Cotton with even greater confidence, knowing that it is grown more sustainably and verified by third-party audit.

Please note that beginning September 29 and running through October 15, separate sessions will begin for growers in providing information regarding signup for this important program.  The webinars will provide details on why the Trust Protocol is critical in a period of ever greater supply chain scrutiny and how quick and easy it is for growers to join the Trust Protocol.

The link below will provide a schedule of these webinars and allow you to register.   Also beginning tomorrow, the Trust Protocol is running webinars through September 25 to provide details and help gins and coops in signing up for the Trust Protocol.  Growers are welcome to attend these sessions as well.  Please register to learn more about the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol.   Join us by clicking one of the times below that fits your schedule, and add it to your calendar.

All the information can be found by clicking the button below.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Pink Bollworm Program has released its report for monitoring Silverleaf Whitefly. The program monitored for whitefly and other cotton pests from August 24, 2020 to September 4, 2020.  Whitefly on the increase.  Stay vigilant – NO STICKY COTTON! For the full report, please follow the links below.