In today’s news and commentary, the produce supplier connected to the current cyclospora outbreak is facing renewed concern over its labor practices, and a bipartisan bill to accelerate labor contracts gains momentum.

Taylor Farms, the produce supplier under scrutiny over the latest cyclospora outbreak, is facing renewed criticism over its use of state prison labor, which could include labor from incarcerated undocumented individuals. A 2023 report by Prison Legal News found that Taylor Farms was one of several Arizona companies that contracted labor from Arizona’s Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (DCRR) through Arizona Correctional Industries. The report counted 26 DCRR prisoners with detainers filed by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The detainers render them ineligible for employment in the U.S., and a 2007 state law makes any potential employer criminally liable for failure to check their work eligibility – though importantly the law exempts employers renting prison labor from DCRR or its for-profit subsidiary. This means that state law permits the forced labor of prisoners who would otherwise be unable eligible for work in the state. The resurfaced reporting highlights how companies can benefit from the Constitution’s own exception to its ban on slavery and forced labor in the context of incarcerated people.

In early June, the House passed the Faster Labor Contracts Act, with 20 Republicans crossing party lines to support it....

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