Farmworkers And Laborers, Crop

Job description

Citrus Harvesting: Harvesting citrus fruit by hand under supervisor’s instructions, the worker will place a picking sack over his shoulder and carry an 18’ to 20’ ladder from the field truck to the particular area of the grove to be harvested. The picking sack is a canvas bag equipped with a shoulder strap for support, an opening for the insertion of fruit, and an opening to remove fruit. A full loaded sack weighs between approximately 80 and 100 pounds, depending upon the size, condition and variety of fruit. Worker positions ladder against the tree and within reach of the fruit in a leaning position, taking care not to break limbs, damage the tree, knock of fruit or interfere with other workers, in a secure position to prevent slipping or falling and possible injury to themselves or other workers. Worker will remove fruit from the tree and place into pick sack. When pick sack is full take full sack to fruit tub.
General grove caretaking: Irrigation system maintenance and operation of agriculture equipment.
Harvesting berries by hand, the worker will walk down the berry field rows where the blueberry/strawberry will be harvested. The worker will place a 1 gallon picking bucket with a strap over his/her shoulder from the field truck to the particular area of the field where the fruit will be harvested. The 1 gallon picking bucket is a canvas, equipped with a shoulder strap for support. Worker positions him/herself in front of the berry plant and will remove the fruit from the plant and place into the 1 gallon picking bucket taking care not to break any limbs, damage the tree, or knock off the fruit. When the 1 gallon picking bucket is full the worker will take it to the truck at the end of the row where the worker will unload the fruit into a small tub or container.
Hand weeding: Workers will walk through the fields pooling the weeds around the plants using their hand or a hoe.
The worker in order to perform this kind of work must be able to work outside for at least 6 hours a day in all kinds of weather and be in possession of the requisite physical strength and endurance to repeat the picking process rapidly, the employer will provide the tools necessary to perform the described job duties with out charge to the worker. The employer will charge the worker for reasonable costs related to the worker’s refusal or negligent failure to return the tools or due to such worker’s willful damage or destruction of the tools.

Employees may volunteer to work additional hours when work is available. Workers should expect occasional periods of little or no work because of weather, crop or other conditions beyond the employer’s control. These periods can occur any time throughout the season. If workers request a leave of absence during the contract period, the hours will be deducted from the hours offered under the ETA 790A for the purposes of the three-quarter guarantee.

A copy of the work contract or a copy of the ETA 790 in lieu of a work contract, and any modifications, will be provided to the H-2A worker no later than the time at which the worker applies for the Visa, or to a worker in corresponding employment, no later than on the day work commences. For an H-2A worker going from an H-2A employer to a subsequent H-2A employer, a copy of the contract will be provided no later than the time an offer of employment is made by the subsequent H-2A employer.

Special Requirements

This type of work, involves working conditions that require tremendous stamina, a high level of physical activity in cold or extremely hot conditions in direct sunlight and in adverse weather such as rain. The work requires a high level of physical conditioning. Due to the type of work involved, there is a Probationary Period of five (5) days beginning with the first day of employment, to show possession of the requisite physical strength and endurance to perform this type of work.