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.

Note that the AJP raises funding to make certification and technical assistance free to family- and community-scale farms and to BIPOC-led farms. When our funding cannot cover the full cost of certification for these farms, we will reduce the costs as much as possible. Please contact us for more information.

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

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. Food Justice Certified farms must be certified organic, Certified Naturally Grown, or Certified Demeter, or, alternately, they could use organic management practices without any certification. When a farm is not certified by one of these programs, it must undergo additional audit review to verify full compliance with the environmental standards that these programs share, in particular their prohibition of toxic pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, GMOs, and nano-materials.

No. A farm or business may not apply for FJC for only a portion of the operation or a portion of their employees. The standards require fair treatment for workers and fair pricing for farmers as well as protection from toxic materials 100% of the time. A farm or business cannot pay living wages for work in one field or department and minimum wages in another. Individuals or companies may own both AJP certified and non-AJP certified farms and businesses, but these must be separate businesses.

Food Justice Certified standards encourage direct hiring and discourage the use of labor contractors. FJC will only allow a farmer to hire workers through a labor contractor for short periods of time and in emergencies. In each case, the farm must justify the use to the certifier and get explicit permission. If it has been the usual practice of a farm to hire through a labor contractor, the farmer must make a plan to transition to direct hiring.

Yes, though hiring minors for full time work is not allowed. The standards allow full time work for 16-18 year olds only if an employer can document that a minor has left school voluntarily. A farm can hire young people as long as employment on the farm does not interfere with their education. Careful supervision is required. The standards state: “Under no circumstances will minors be given tasks that expose them to hazards or potential hazards such as chemicals or machinery. Minors should not work at night, and all loads carried or lifted or other physical demands placed on them should be age appropriate. Minors should be carefully supervised. Minors will be assigned tasks commensurate with their physical limitations.” Members of the farm family are not covered by FJC standards unless they are on the farm payroll.

AJP bases its standards regarding children working on a farm on the International Labour Organization: “Not all work that children undertake in agriculture is bad for them or would qualify as work to be eliminated under the ILO Minimum Age Convention No. 138 or the Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention No. 182. Age-appropriate tasks that are of lower risk and do not interfere with a child’s schooling and leisure time, can be a normal part of growing up in a rural environment. Indeed, many types of work experience for children can be positive, providing them with practical and social skills for work as adults.” AJP defines children as under 18 years of age. In countries where young people can legally leave school at the age of 16, these standards would allow the full-time employment of 16 – 18 year olds if it can be documented that the children left school voluntarily.

Yes, but the farm/business must recruit the H2A workers directly and not through a recruitment agency and must observe all FJC standards for fairness regarding working conditions for the H2A workers. Professional assistance with the paperwork is acceptable. The H2A required pay rate is higher than the minimum wage, but it does not meet the living wage rate. The employer must inform the H2A workers of their rights under FJC. All other FJC standards should also apply to H2A workers including the right to lodge grievances without retaliation. H2A usually ties workers to a particular employer so if the employer fires the worker, the worker has to return home. FJC requires that if an employer wants to terminate an H2A worker, the termination must be for just cause and the worker must be allowed to appeal the termination and remain in farm provided housing until the appeal is concluded. In using the H2A or H2B process, the farm/business is responsible for any issues arising out of the international recruitment process.

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.