In New Mexico, the state’s Court of Appeals declared a provision that has been on record since the 1930s to be unconstitutional, thus allowing farmers and ranch hands to get workers’ compensation benefits they had previously been denied.

The provision in the Workers’ Compensation Act said workers whose duties included growing and harvesting crops, meat, or dairy products were excluded from workers’ comp. It specifically excluded workers’ who “grew and harvested” from those who worked other jobs in the industry, like those who might be inside bagging the crops and were still able to receive benefits. The appeals court said that violated the equal protection clause in the state’s constitution and unfairly excluded agricultural workers.

The court is going to try and apply their ruling to past claims (back to March 30, 2012) but said it might be difficult to track down everyone who was unfairly denied. They won’t know just how many claimants this affected until they forward to claim benefits.

The case made it to the appeals courts in the first place because of two ongoing cases between workers injured at agricultural jobs who were originally excluded from receiving benefits. Then they filed appeals to challenge the exclusion’s constitutionality. There are roughly 15,000 agricultural workers in New Mexico, and it is unknown whether or not industry groups are considering an appeal.