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In rural West Texas, one worker’s willingness to stand up to her employer has led to a federal consent decree mandating increased protections for over 100 workers against the coronavirus.

On January 15th, an El Paso federal district judge ordered that Village Farms, L.P., enact a variety of standard COVID-19 safety measures, including providing workers who are symptomatic or have tested positive for coronavirus with quarantine and isolation housing, notifying workers who have been exposed to someone who has tested positive within 24 hours, and helping workers get tested. 

Maria de los Angeles Calzada Navarrete, the worker who brought the complaint against Village Farms, L.P., decided to do so after a COVID-19 outbreak at the farm this past fall. As a 61-year-old with a pre-existing condition, she was shocked to find out that someone who she was living with in employer-provided housing had tested positive for COVID-19 without the employer informing her.  “I want to work,” stated Calzada Navarrete, “but I also want to live.” 

“This order delivers a clear message to agricultural producers across the country that they can and should implement basic measures to keep migrant workers safe during the pandemic.” said Maxwell Dismukes, an attorney at Texas Río Grande Legal Aid (TRLA) who brought the case on behalf of Calzada Navarrete in a press release. “Maria and thousands of other farmworkers have gone to work every day during this pandemic to keep our grocery stores and kitchen cabinets stocked with food. All she wanted was for Village Farms to take the simple steps needed to decrease her risk of contracting the virus and spreading it to others.” 

If you or anyone you know has suffered any type of abuse in your place of work, you can contact Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. (CDM). You can call from Mexico at 8005901773, and from the U.S. at 855.234.9699. To speak with someone in Mixteco you can call 953 554 0517. All assessments are completely free and confidential.