SALEM — Farmworker wages, benefits and safety protections in Oregon would be regulated by a new state labor standards board under a new bill that’s alarming agricultural employers.

House Bill 2548 would establish an “agricultural workforce labor standards board” with jurisdiction over compensation, scheduling, work hours, rest breaks, training requirements and other workplace conditions for farmworkers.

For agricultural employers, HB 2548 amounts to “sector-level bargaining” that threatens to impose expensive new requirements and otherwise overhaul existing labor rules, said Jenny Dresler, lobbyist for the Oregon Farm Bureau.

“Everything that has been negotiated over the past 10 years is essentially reset,” Dresler said. “It’s going to touch everything and everybody.”

PCUN, a nonprofit representing farmworkers, believes the bill will promote a “stable workforce” and help ensure “access to fair wages, safe conditions and protection from retaliation,” said Ira Cuello-Martinez, the organization’s policy and advocacy director.

“For farmworkers, a standards board will create their first-ever voice in setting industry standards, correcting historic exclusions,” Cuello-Martinez said in an email.

The board would be appointed by the governor and consist of four members representing farmworkers, four members representing agricultural employers, and a public member with “legal knowledge and expertise” about the industry’s health and safety issues.

Minimum labor standards would be reviewed and updated as necessary every two years by the board, which must consult with several state agencies when adopting or revising rules.

The bill also prohibits terminating farmworkers without cause or retaliating against those who inquire about their rights under the legislation or who testify or otherwise participate in any proceedings related to the board.

Workers alleging violations of these provisions would be able to file administrative complaints or lawsuits against their employers.

The legislation basically intends to “establish a new floor for everything,” including the minimum wage for farmworkers, which would be “very impactful” for farmers who are already contending with the burden imposed by past labor bills, Dresler said.

“This is going to be one of the big issues of the session,” she said. “It will probably be one of the biggest cost drivers of the session for us.”

At this point, HB 2548 has been introduced in the 2025 legislative session, which begins Jan. 21 and must end by late June, but it hasn’t yet been assigned to a committee or scheduled for any public hearings.

The bill is sponsored by 13 lawmakers from the Democratic Party, which in the most recent election won a three-fifths “super majority” in both the House and Senate.

Cuello-Martinez of PCUN said the board would follow “proven models from other states” in which “workers and employers unite to set industry standards.”

For example, a similar law for agricultural workers was passed in New York while Nevada and Minnesota have created standards boards for home care and nursing home workers, respectively.

The concept benefits everyone, “especially those excluded from basic labor protections,” by creating more innovative, stable and “equitable industries,” Cuello-Martinez said.

“Together, we will join a growing movement of states and cities by empowering essential farmworkers through workforce standards boards,” he said.