The Farmworker Unit is a statewide project of Legal Aid of North Carolina committed to providing high quality civil legal services to address the special legal needs of migrant and seasonal farmworkers in North Carolina. We represent individual farmworkers and their families, advising them about their legal rights and helping them get what the law requires.
Our case work addresses common issues facing by farmworkers in this state, including:
- Recovering unpaid wages
- Redressing violations of health and safety standards on the job and in housing
- Obtaining medical attention and compensation for workers injured on the job
- Addressing violations of H-2A workers’ contracts
- Redressing retaliation against workers who seek to assert their rights
- Obtaining both damages and other civil relief and immigration status for victims of forced labor trafficking
- Discrimination against farmworkers by civil authorities and private entities, either on basis of status, race, religion, sex, ethnicity, or age or any other impermissible reason.
- Naturalization and other representation on immigration matters.
- Cases enforcing workers’ employment rights, including the right to a safe workplace in accordance with OSHA.
- Other meritorious cases that may significantly impact the special needs of migrant workers and meet the listed goals to the extent that resources allow for the representation of such cases.
In addition to representing individual farmworkers, we:
Perform extensive outreach and community education to farmworkers about their legal rights;
- Give free presentations to the public, in both small and large group settings, about farmworkers and the law;
- Provide information to both English and Spanish language media to educate the public about current issues affecting farmworkers;
- Invite interested people to join us for outreach to learn more about and connect with farmworkers; and
- Advocate with government agencies for improved enforcement of laws and regulations protecting farmworkers.
- Provide information to farmworkers about using and coping with institutions in the United States, both public and private including the justice system, licensing and tax systems, services provided by state, county, local or federal governments, employment law principles, family and consumer law, education law, civil rights, public benefits, and housing.
- Provide farmworkers with information and referrals to other agencies and community organizations.