The Oregon Worker Quarantine Fund will pay farmworkers age 18 or older $430 to quarantine for one week, or $860 for two weeks, after exposure to or diagnosis with COVID-19. Workers qualify regardless of immigration status.

SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown announced a new source of financial assistance Aug. 1 for agricultural workers who need to self-quarantine during COVID-19.

The program, called the Oregon Worker Quarantine Fund, will pay farmworkers age 18 or older $430 to quarantine for one week, or $860 for two weeks, after exposure to or diagnosis with COVID-19. Workers qualify regardless of immigration status.

The fund, supported with public dollars, is administered by the Oregon Worker Relief Coalition, state agencies and the governor’s office.

“When people working on farms or in food processing plants are exposed to COVID-19, they have few options to prevent the virus from spreading besides giving up their paycheck,” Ramon Valdez, director of strategic initiatives and relationships at Innovation Law Lab, an immigrant advocacy nonprofit, said in a statement.

The quarantine fund, Valdez said, was designed to take financial stress off farmworkers.

In recent polls, most agricultural workers report they can’t afford to take two weeks off to quarantine.

According to 2019 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average farmworker’s wage in the nursery and crop sector is $28,130 per year, and $27,930 in the livestock and animal sector.

Farmworkers, labeled “essential” from the start, are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.

Data from Oregon Health Authority, or OHA, which tracks COVID-19 outbreaks, shows that food, packing and agricultural worksites are overrepresented in workplace outbreaks.

Jeff Stone, executive director of Oregon Association of Nurseries, said he “deeply resents” the narrative that agricultural business owners don’t care about their workers. Stone said OHA tracks outbreaks in the workplace, but he thinks COVID-19 cases likely multiply as farmworkers come in contact with people after work or on weekends.

Oregon Health Authority did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Reyna Lopez, executive director at PCUN, Oregon’s Farmworker Union, said in a recent statement immigrant farmworkers, who have been left out of many federal relief programs, especially need financial support.

“It is all hands on deck to protect our communities and workplaces during COVID-19,” Anne Marie Moss, spokeswoman for Oregon Farm Bureau, told the Capital Press. “The Oregon Worker Quarantine Fund will help provide further incentive and support for those employees who need to quarantine during the pandemic or who need to stay home to care for a family member.”

The fund, she said, will be a great addition to the already-existing paid sick leave benefits available for employees under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act passed by Congress in March. Moss said FFCRA and the new fund will serve as “strong safety nets.”

Stone, of the nursery association, agreed safety nets are essential.

”This fund will help in the effort to make sure people are rewarded for self-reporting and not punished,” he said.

Relief payments are determined using the average weekly living expense factor. Applicants may re-apply if they need to quarantine again.

How to qualify:

• 18 years of age or older
• An agricultural worker or farmworker
• Having to quarantine for 14 days after an exposure to COVID-19
• Diagnosed with COVID-19
• Seeking medical care or taking care of a family member due to COVID-19
• Working for a wage in Oregon in an activity related to agriculture, farming, fishing, treeplanting, tree harvesting, dairy, ranching, food processing, canning, slaughtering, packaging, butchering, or nursery work.

Where to apply:

Agricultural workers can apply for relief through local community-based organizations.  

 Portland Metro

• Adelante Mujeres
• APANO
• Bienestar
• Voz Workers’ Rights Education Project
• Causa Oregon

Oregon Coast

• Centro de Ayuda
• Lower Columbia Hispanic Council

Willamette Valley

• PCUN
• Centro Latino Americano

Eastern Oregon

• EUVALCREE
• Oregon Human Development Corporation

Central Oregon

• Latino Community Association
• Oregon Human Development Corporation

Columbia River Gorge

• The Next Door, Inc

Southern Oregon

• Unete. Center for Farm Worker Advocacy

Additional details about the Oregon Worker Quarantine Funding, including eligibility and application process, are available at bit.ly/q-fund and bit.ly/fondo-cuarentena.

Source: Oregon Worker Quarantine Fund