working conditions in Virginia USA

In Australia we have pretty strict conditions for the rules of employment;
- No wage theft
- No heavy lifting IE 20kg limit
- 9% superannuation on top of wages or salary
- 4 weeks annual leave
- Min. wage about A$20 about  $13.50 per hour
I was surprised to see one job had a requirement to lift 60lb regularly [27 Kg], the limit is set to eliminate non employment of women with w weight restriction
and medical issues created by the heavier lifting.

I work in manufacturing in New York and we have a 50lb lifting requirement.

This is however tempered with lift-assist devices that are utilized because it can be an ergonomic nightmare to lift 50lbs.

Aw come on Australia, UK minimum is 5.6 weeks leave.
‘Minimum’ wage 19.46AUD rising to 21.37 in april.

I've been farming my whole life. Our feed sacks were always 100 lbs. I wouldn't go to the nearby feed stores because they only sold in 50 lb. bags. Instead, we would go down to Amish country to get feed. ~They still could lift something. Then they went to 80 lb. sacks. I was very unhappy. 80 lbs. was just too small. But now in the last year, they too have gone to 50 lb. feed sacks. I hate it. It makes me feel lazy to carry such a trivial amount. My solution is to just carry two sacks at a time, but it is annoying. I don't like wasting all that extra bag material that goes into making two sacks instead of just one. I just don't know what has happened to the last several generations. People have gotten so weak. Maybe it's eating all the McDonalds. Or maybe it's sitting too much banging on a gd keyboard (just like I'm doing right now) and not working more. --Oh well, I gotta get out to the barn. There's work to do.

Something I think about a lot is how farming can be done without breaking one's back, figuratively or literally.

People of small stature and many people with physical disabilities are capable of farming. You don't even need advanced technology for this. Simple tools and proper strategic planning can be used to grow food without chronically hurting and exhausting workers.

I think labor minimization is right in line with permaculture. Don't burn more energy than you have to, don't disturb the soil more than you have to, don't burn out your employees or your self, etc. Work smarter as they say.