How well did COVID-19 policies protect farmworkers? RESPIRAR study finds out

Photo: Oregon Farmland by akaplummer, Getty Images Signature

August 14, 2025 –The RESPIRAR Project has released new findings revealing gaps in COVID-19 prevention policies for farmworkers. The study, now published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One, is one of the first studies offering analytical evidence on how policy interventions affected this workforce.

“In today’s interconnected world, every policy decision has far-reaching effects,” said Devon Payne-Sturges, the Principal Investigator for the RESPIRAR Project. “Data and policy analysis to support evidence-based approaches are essential."

Migrant and seasonal farmworkers were deemed "essential" during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet they often worked and lived in conditions with elevated exposure risks. Until now, little analytical evidence has examined the effectiveness of specific protective policies.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can enact Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) to issue urgent, timely actions, allowing them to bypass traditional rulemaking processes until permanent standards are in place. States with approved OSHA plans are also authorized to enact localized ETSs.

Oregon was among the first states to implement ETSs targeting farmworker protections. To evaluate impact, Payne-Sturges and Raul Cruz-Cano, the project’s biostatistician, used an interrupted time series analysis to assess how two ETSs and one executive order influenced COVID-19 trends among both agricultural workers and the general public.

Of the three policies examined, Oregon's all-workplace ETS was associated with declines in COVID-19 cases for both groups. This suggests that comprehensive workplace exposure control strategies were more effective in reducing disease spread.

These findings offer critical guidance for policymakers preparing for future infectious disease outbreaks.

The study is available in full in PLOS One, an open-access journal published by the Public Library of Science. The results are also featured in a digital poster presented at the 2024 APHA Annual Meeting.