How An Almond Grower Expanded His Operation

By Patrick Cavanaugh, with the Ag Information Network

Jim Jasper heads up Stewart and Jasper orchards, with almond growing hulling and shelling operations in the Stanislaus County area of Newman.

“In the mid-eighties as the almond industry continued to grow, some of our neighbors wanted to use our huller. So we put a sheller in, and by the late eighties, like a lot of them are doing, we were a Blue Diamond growers from 1960 until 1990, sending our almonds to Blue Diamond. But then we decided, well, we’ll try putting them into a box,” noted Jasper.

By putting them in a box Jasper means he’s going to be processing and shipping to customers.

“We started a little processing business that evolved. And our neighbors wanted to follow suit. And so by the mid 1990s, we’re probably up to about 2% of the total industry boxing processing, marketing almonds. We’ve continued about that same 2% to this day. Things just kind of evolved,” Jasper said.

Jasper said they just grew with the industry, they n ever wanted to outgrow that industry.

“But as you know, by the 2002 or so, the industry hit a billion pounds. And then about 2012 the industry had reached 2 billion pounds. And now we’re looking at a crop today of 3 billion pounds,” noted Jasper.

EMPLOYER’S NEW NOTICE AND REPORTING OBLIGATIONS FOR COVID-19 WORKPLACE EXPOSURE

Written by The Saqui Law Group and Jorge Lopez Espindola

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.

Data Has Been Delayed from Counties

By Tim Hammerich, with the Ag Information Network

Reports of farm labor being down dramatically may be using data that is incomplete, according to UC Davis Agricultural Economist Dr. Dan Sumner.

“It turns out the California government data on labor markets is usually quite good. But this year they get reports from counties and the counties are delayed or only partial reports. So what might look in the official data, like a lot fewer workers in agriculture, frankly it’s just not true,” said Sumner

Instead, Dr. Sumner says indications are that the farm workforce is at consistent levels or higher from previous years, based on the number of farm shipments.

“What I do know because I’ve been looking at it a lot, is that produce shipments are at normal levels or higher. And they all require lots of hired farm labor, whether it’s strawberries or lettuce or celery. And you couldn’t possibly have the normal shipments, including things like avocados that are very labor-intensive, if we had 30% or 40% less labor, which is what the official data still show. It’s subject to revision, and I think if they’re able to get the revisions done, we’ll see we have a normal labor supply,” said Sumner.

Dr. Sumner said the farm labor workforce has been especially vulnerable during the COVID-19 outbreak, but we may also be seeing some workers return to farmwork from other jobs, which is rare.