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A Cross-Sectional Legal Epidemiology Study of Associations Between State-Level Labor Laws (LLEI) and Workplace
Erica Chavez Santos1, India Ornelas, Heather Hill
1From the Department of Health Systems & Population Health, University of Washington (UW) School of Public Health, Seattle, WA (ECS, IO, BB); Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention (SHARP) Program, Work Equity Research Center, Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, Olympia, WA (ECS, JTS); UW Evans School Public Policy and Management, Seattle, WA (HH); UW Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Seattle, WA (JTS, JCF); and University of Iowa Department of Epidemiology, Iowa City, IA (JCF).
Objective:
Agricultural workers are at a disproportionate risk of work-related injuries and illnesses. We examined how labor laws are associated with agricultural workers' work environments.
Methods:
We conducted a cross-sectional study of Hispanic/Latine participants in the National Agricultural Workers Survey to assess the association between a Labor Law Equity Index (LLEI), which summarizes agricultural worker inclusion or exclusion in workers' compensation, minimum wage, and overtime pay laws across US states, and workplace conditions.
Results:
Higher LLEI scores were associated with an increased odds of employer provision of water (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.18, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05 to 1.33), toilet (aOR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.34 to 1.67), hand-washing station (aOR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.26 to 1.56), and pesticide training (aOR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.29).
Conclusion:
Our results highlight policy-related opportunities to improve workplace water access, sanitation, and training implementation to better support agricultural worker health.
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