Migrant & Seasonal Farm Workers

Many migrant farmworkers travel to Tennessee each year to help with the cultivating and harvesting of several crops in specific regions of the state. Through our Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker Program, we help farmworkers and the employers who hire them.

To improve the living and working conditions of those farmworkers and their families who prefer to remain in the farm labor market we provide the following assistance:

  • Complaint resolution
  • Counseling
  • Farmworker rights and labor law information
  • Job development
  • Job search assistance and placement
  • Referrals to other organizations that serve migrant and seasonal farmworkers
  • Referrals to supportive services
  • Registration assistance
  • Testing
  • Training opportunities

Eligibility

An MSFW is either a migrant farmworker, a seasonal farmworker, or a migrant food processing worker:

Seasonal Farm Worker - a person who performed farm work in at least 25 or more days or parts of days during the preceding 12 months, earned at least half of his/her earned income from farm work, and was not employed in farm work year-round by the same employer.

Migrant Farm Worker - a seasonal farmworker who traveled to do the farm work and was unable to return to his/her permanent residence within the same date.

Migrant Food Processing Worker - means a person who during the preceding 12 months has worked at least a total of 25 or more days or parts of days in which some work was performed in food processing (as classified in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 311411, 311611, 311421 for food processing establishments), earned at least half of his/her earned income from processing work and was not employed in food processing year-round by the same employer, provided that the food processing required travel such that the worker was unable to return to his/her permanent residence in the same day. Migrant food processing workers who are full-time students but who travel in organized groups rather than with their families are excluded.

How to Apply

Please visit a local American Job Center for assistance or complete online registration at Jobs4tn.gov.