The effect of Emergency Temporary Standard on COVID-19 trends among farmworkers in Oregon:
an interrupted time series analysis case study
by Raul Cruz-Cano and Devon C. Payne-Sturges
Background
Migrant and seasonal farmworkers were deemed “essential” during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet little analytical evidence exists on the effectiveness of interventions aimed at protecting them.
Method:
We used an interrupted time series analysis to estimate the effect of three Oregon occupational health and safety rules (two EMTs and an executive order) on COVID-19 trends for the overall population and agricultural labor groups from March 1, 2020, to February 27, 2021, in Oregon.
Results:
The ETS targeting all Oregon workplaces was associated with a statistically significant decrease in cases for the general, producers, hired workers, unpaid workers, and migrant workers, while no statistically significant increase or decrease in deaths was detected due to any of the three laws included in this study. Overall, trends in the number of cases in the producer and unpaid agricultural labor population groups closely mirrored those of the general Oregon population, while the migrant and hired did not as much.
Conclusion:
ETS targeting all Oregon workplaces was more effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19. This necessitates a re-evaluation of how ETS orders targeting farmworkers are designed, communicated, and implemented.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Main Finding
State-level Emergency Temporary Standard targeting all Oregon workplaces was associated with decreases in COVID-19 cases and deaths among the general population, producers, unpaid, farmworkers, and hired farmworkers. Migrant farmworkers experienced a marginally significant decrease.
