[word=workers] [□] □ □
[word=workers] [□=□] □ □
[word=workers] [□ | □] □ □
In March 1999 , a federal judge held that , because the average tenure of workers at Case who were recruited in south Texas was only six weeks , the workers were " migrants " and protected by the Agricultural Migrant and Seasonal Workers Protection Act. Maryland 's Department of the Environment in March announced new rules that limit the amount of sludge that poultry slaughterhouses in Maryland can spread on fields , an effort to limit water pollution . If , as a result of this investigation , the IRS and / or the courts , determine that the workers are actually employees , the hiring company will owe penalties , back taxes , and interest for as long as they have classified workers as independent contractors . All field workers were trained nutritionists who are otherwise professionally engaged in nutrition work in their own counties and who have participated in other national surveys . Since the San Joaquin Valley citrus industry harvests 125,000 acres of navel oranges in the winter and Valencia oranges in the summer , most harvest workers are year-round residents .