Coachella Mandates COVID-19 Hazard Pay For Ag Workers

COACHELLA, CA — Agricultural, grocery store, restaurant, and retail pharmacy workers in Coachella will see a $4 per hour increase in wages following unanimous approval Wednesday of a city ordinance designed to provide them with economic security during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Affected businesses that employ more than 300 people nationally or more than five people in the city will have to pay affected workers the additional $4 an hour for at least 120 days from the date of Feb. 10, according to the ordinance. Businesses are also prohibited from retaliating against workers by limiting or reducing their pay, the ordinance states.

While Coachella is not the first city to offer hazard pay amid the pandemic, it is the first to offer it to agricultural workers, according to Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez. He told the Los Angeles Times the ordinance is the first of its kind in the nation.

In a Facebook post Thursday, Hernandez said he was proud that he and Councilmember Neftali Galarza brought the ordinance forward. He also offered that "we have to think of unintended consequences [of the ordinance] and be ready as a council to respond to them. We have to make sure that in the event farms close, hour gets reduced, and/or farmers go broke- we can help. I am committed to helping and making sure we find the best path forward for all. It’s too simple to simply pit farmworkers against farmers. ... Good outcomes have to be rooted in great solutions to solve complex problems! We are here to help."

Several local growers opposed the ordinance as did the California Grocers Association, the California Restaurant Association, and the California Retailers Association.

The Coachella Valley is home to an estimated 8,000 agricultural workers, a majority of whom are Hispanic/Latino. The population has been hit hard by the pandemic: Nearly half of all Riverside County's 3,477 COVID-19 deaths are among Hispanic/Latino residents.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, working-age adults have experienced a 22 percent increase in mortality compared to historical periods, according to a recent study conducted by the University of California, San Francisco. Latino Californians experienced a 36 percent increase in mortality, with a 59 percent increase among Latino food/agriculture workers, the study found.