Pioneer Hi-Bred, Corteva settle suit with farmworkers allegedly sprayed with pesticides

A group of migrant agricultural workers who say they were sprayed with pesticides while working in a central Illinois cornfield in 2019 reached a confidential settlement late last month with Corteva and its Johnston-based subsidiary, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, ending a three-year lawsuit with the seed giants.

The case against the companies that owned and operated the aircraft that sprayed the workers is ongoing.

Lawyers for the workers said the companies violated the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act by:

• Failing to provide them with facilities to wash off the chemicals after being sprayed.
• Ordering the workers to go back into the fields still enveloped by the toxic compounds.
• Lying to them about what had been sprayed.
• Failing to pay for the workers' hospital bills, despite carrying the legally required workers’ compensation coverage.

Attorneys for the migrants and their children sought compensation for damages and attorney fees, and alleged that the companies had committed battery and assault.

More: Iowa fought to keep Corteva. Now, the company is helping farmers battle climate change

Federal and state investigations, investigative reporting and public outrage around the case helped spur a change in the law that passed in June 2023, increasing penalties for applicators who expose humans to harmful chemicals.

Illinois Sen. Karina Villa, a West Chicago Democrat who fought to pass the legislation for years, said that it’s difficult for her not to get emotional about what happened to the workers. Villa said both of her grandfathers were farmers and migrant workers, and she wanted to make sure such workers are protected in the state. She has been a member of the Senate Committee for Agriculture since 2021.

“I really wish I would have been a fly on the wall to know what that settlement was, but in my personal opinion, there’s nothing that can compensate for the blatant disregard for humanity that occurred,” she said.

On Aug. 5, 2019, about 95 workers were detasseling corn in a field in Santa Anna Township, Illinois, operated by the agricultural seed and chemical company Corteva Agrisciences , when a plane flew overhead, dousing the workers in chemicals, according to court documents. It made a second pass, spraying the workers again only minutes later. Two weeks earlier, a helicopter had dusted the same workers.

According to the lawsuit, the company “provided no emergency medical assistance, decontamination measures, or instructions to the workers about rinsing or washing themselves, and offered no transportation to a medical facility.” Several of the workers sought medical care at a nearby hospital, including a pregnant woman who was afraid she was miscarrying.

Some of the workers were not able to decontaminate and exposed their families and children to the pesticide, according to the complaint.

In a court motion, attorneys for the migrant workers wrote that each of the workers they they represented live and work outside Illinois in multiple states. Many of the workers “do not have consistent or reliable access to the internet, making even remote participation for all Plaintiffs unfeasible,” according to the motion filed in April.

U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough took the request into consideration, including the cost of continuing the litigation, and on July 26 granted the confidential settlement agreement. A portion of the total amount of the settlement will be allocated to each of the plaintiffs based on factors including the severity of their injuries.

Lawsuits remain against aerial spraying companies

The plaintiffs’ claims against the owners and operators of the aircraft, RAS Aviation LLC, Curless Flying Service Inc. and Farm Air Inc., remain active, according to the motion. Lawyers for the workers and their children declined to comment because of the ongoing litigation.

The aviation companies are also still embroiled in a separate lawsuit brought by Illinois Attorney General Kawame Raoul through the Illinois Pollution Board, accusing them of violating the Illinois Environmental Protection Act. The Attorney General’s Office seeks to fine the companies $50,000 for each violation of the act.

Attorneys for RAS, Farm Air and Curless Flying Service did not respond to requests for comment.

In 2020, the pesticide applicators were each fined $750 by the Department of Agriculture, the highest penalty at the time. Lawyers for the migrant workers and their children claimed in the lawsuit that the harms and damages from the incidents totaled more than $75,000 for each of the plaintiffs.

In a written statement to Investigate Midwest, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Agriculture said, “Corteva was the manager of the agricultural worker crews. The Department did not take any enforcement action against Corteva in the 2019 incidents, as they were not applying pesticides. In one of the instances, Corteva filed the initial complaint.”

In an emailed statement to Investigate Midwest, a spokesperson for Corteva wrote, “We consistently denied in the lawsuit that the plaintiffs were sprayed with pesticides. That remains an issue in the case,” and added that “neither of (the aviation companies RAS Aviation or Curless) was working on our behalf when the plaintiffs claim to have been sprayed.”

Pioneer is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Corteva Inc., a publicly traded agricultural chemical and seed company based in Indianapolis. Corteva raked in $17 billion in sales in 2023 and operates fields throughout Illinois. Every summer, the companies employ migrant agricultural workers to detassel corn — a labor-intensive process that can be done only by hand and typically lasts for two weeks to a month.

“The health and safety of our colleagues is our top priority,” the Corteva spokesperson wrote, “and we provide extensive training and resources to ensure they have the knowledge and equipment they need to be and stay safe.”

Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public interest by exposing dangerous and costly practices of influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism. Visit us online at www.investigatemidwest.org

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Pioneer Hi-Bred, Corteva settle suit with farmworkers allegedly sprayed with pesticides