New Washington State Law Grants Farmworkers Liens on Crops
Legislature passes protective measure ensuring laborers and landlords can secure payment against seasonal harvests.
Senate bill 147, by Smith, gives any person who may do any labor upon any farm or land in tilling or sowing or harvesting or threshing any grain, as laborer, contractor or otherwise, a lien upon such crops for his work or labor, and every landlord shall have a lien upon the crops grown or growing upon demised lands for rents during the year; the liens shall be preferred liens. (Approved March 3rd, 1891.)
“The liens shall be preferred liens.”
This 1891 statute addressed the perennial problem of labor exploitation in the agricultural sector, predating contemporary wage-theft legislation. It underscores that the struggle to ensure seasonal agricultural workers are paid for their harvest labor has been central to the Yakima Valley economy for over 130 years.
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