First a farm or business brings their labor and trade practices into compliance with the FJC standards. The AJP offers technical assistance to help with this process. AJP provides this service free to farmers, depending on funding availability.

Once a business believes their practices are in compliance, they fill out an application for certification with the Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association (OEFFA), who is currently the only certifier that offers FJC.

Once the application has been reviewed, OEFFA schedules an in-person audit, and the AJP posts an invitation for public comment regarding the applicant.

A team consisting of an organic certification inspector and an AJP-trained representative of a worker organization perform the FJC certification audit. The certifier meets with management to review workers’ files and contracts with buyers if such exist. The worker inspector meets with farm workers and interviews them individually in confidence to verify farm labor practices.

During a certification audit the selection of workers to interview is strictly dictated by the certifier and worker representative. The protocol certifiers must follow does not allow them to consider farmer input in selection of these workers. The certification auditor may also ask for contact information for workers who are not present the day of the audit and workers who were terminated during the previous 12 months, so they may contact them after the audit visit.

The inspection exit interview does not include the final detailed audit report as in an organic inspection. The auditors complete their report after any additional worker interviews that might be needed, and they make every effort to keep information they learned from individual employees confidential.

For organic farmers there is the optional advantage of combining two certifications into one inspection: Organic and Food Justice. Currently OEFFA is the sole Certification Body licensed to conduct both inspections. There would be a significant saving of time and resources as compared with audits by different certifiers.

OEFFA issues a final certification after the farm or business corrects any points of non-compliance cited in the final report.

Certification fees are determined by the certifier. See the current fee sheet on OEFFA’s website for details.

FJC standards do not establish a specific wage rate for all employers (such as minimum wage). Instead, the standards require that the employer pay a living wage for the region, calculated using local costs of living. For a rough estimate of a living wage in your area, see the MIT Living Wage Calculator, but add an additional 10% for savings (included in the AJP’s definition of a living wage but excluded from MIT’s calculation). Note that MIT’s data may also be out-of-date.

If the employer cannot pay a regional living wage currently, the standards require that employer and employees have an open and transparent discussion about what a living wage would be for the region and create a plan to raise wages to that level. During this period, the employer must share basic accounting (including revenues and expenses) of the operation with employees to demonstrate why paying a full living wage is not yet possible.

Yes. FJC includes specific standards that cover the relationship between the staff and employees of a non-profit farm/business and its board of directors. The FJC standards require that there be a democratic process for selecting the board and that there are clear channels for staff participation in board decision-making. The standards also require open communications with workers about changes to the farm/business by either the staff or the board. If the board wants to change the direction of the farm/business or add new tasks or areas of work, the staff are consulted and new tasks assigned fairly with job descriptions that do not exceed normal working hours. Board members should be qualified to make decisions related to the organization’s mission and avoid conflicts of interest. In addition, there must be a conflict resolution policy that specifically addresses appropriate procedures for disputes among board members or between board and staff members.

Yes. Farms and businesses without hired employees can be certified, since the standards also cover relationships and negotiations between farmers and buyers and between food businesses.

Food Justice Certification provides for fair treatment of both farmers and workers. The vision of the Agricultural Justice Project’s certification program is to ensure and reward fair relationships throughout the food system. This includes farmers receiving a fair price for their farm products and having fair and transparent negotiations with buyers.

Yes, as long as the farm/business is a completely separate business entity with separate financial statements, separate organizational structures, separate paychecks for employees who work for both the subsidiary and the larger corporation, and separate names.