Incorporating Structural Racism, Employment Discrimination, and Economic Inequities in the Social Determinants of Health Framework to Understand Agricultural Worker Health Inequities.

This article focuses on how structural racism, embedded in employment laws and economic conditions, drives health inequities among agricultural workers, who are predominantly racial/ethnic minorities. It critiques the current social determinants of health (SDOH) framework for failing to explicitly include structural racism as a root cause of these inequities and highlights Yearby's revised SDOH framework that incorporates structural racism to better explain disparities in employment opportunities, wages, and benefits for agricultural workers. Historical and contemporary laws have restricted agricultural workers' rights to unionize, receive minimum wage, overtime pay, and paid sick leave, contributing to poverty and associated physical and mental health disparities, including heightened risks during pandemics like H1N1 and COVID-19. The article argues that addressing health inequities requires systemic changes targeting structural racism in employment law rather than individualized interventions.