Agricultural Worker Claims

Occupational Exposure: The Highest-Risk Population

Agricultural workers who mix, load, and spray Roundup experience glyphosate exposure levels that are orders of magnitude higher than residential users. A commercial applicator who sprays Roundup on crops, orchards, or rights-of-way may handle concentrated glyphosate formulations for 6-10 hours per day during the growing season. Without proper protective equipment — which was rarely mandated and never emphasized in Monsanto's product labeling for agricultural use — workers absorb glyphosate through exposed skin, inhale spray drift, and carry contaminated clothing home to their families.

Biomonitoring studies of agricultural applicators have found urinary glyphosate levels up to 233 parts per billion on days of active spraying — hundreds of times higher than levels found in the general population. These exposure levels correspond directly to the dose-response evidence linking glyphosate to NHL at the highest exposure quartiles.

Farmworkers and Immigrant Labor

The agricultural workforce in the United States is disproportionately composed of immigrant and migrant workers, many of whom face language barriers, fear of reporting workplace hazards, and limited access to healthcare. These workers often apply Roundup with minimal protective equipment — sometimes wearing only jeans and a t-shirt while spraying from backpack sprayers that leak onto skin and clothing.

Monsanto's product labels for Roundup agricultural formulations provided minimal safety instructions and did not warn of cancer risk until after the IARC classification forced limited label changes in California. For Spanish-speaking workers, label accessibility was even more limited. The failure to provide adequate warnings in languages workers could understand compounds the negligence claim.

Landscapers and Groundskeepers

Landscapers and groundskeepers represent a significant segment of Roundup plaintiffs. Dewayne Johnson, whose 2018 trial produced the first Roundup verdict, was a school district groundskeeper who applied Roundup 20-30 times per year to school grounds. His case established the template for occupational exposure claims — regular application, skin contact during spraying, inadequate warnings, and subsequent NHL diagnosis.

Commercial landscaping companies routinely use Roundup on residential lawns, commercial properties, parks, golf courses, and school grounds. Workers in these roles typically spray Roundup multiple times per week during the growing season, accumulating substantial cumulative exposure over years of employment. Many landscaping employees are young workers who may not understand the health risks of the products they are using.

OSHA's Failure to Protect Workers

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has not established a specific permissible exposure limit (PEL) for glyphosate. While OSHA's general duty clause requires employers to provide a workplace free of recognized hazards, the absence of a specific glyphosate standard means that enforcement has been virtually nonexistent. EPA's registration of Roundup as a general-use pesticide — meaning it can be purchased and applied without a license — further undermined any sense that the product required serious safety precautions.

In Roundup litigation, the absence of OSHA standards actually strengthens plaintiffs' cases. Monsanto had superior knowledge of glyphosate's hazards and had the ability to recommend protective equipment, include cancer warnings, or restrict how the product was used. The company chose not to take any of these steps because doing so would have reduced sales.

Legal Claims Available to Agricultural Workers

Agricultural workers who developed NHL after Roundup exposure have claims for products liability (design defect, failure to warn), negligence, fraud and misrepresentation (Monsanto's concealment of cancer risk), and in states that allow it, punitive damages. Workers' compensation exclusivity does not bar these claims because they are brought against the product manufacturer (Monsanto/Bayer), not the employer.