Legislation will give Washington farmworkers overtime pay

Washington state agricultural workers will start receiving overtime pay in 2022 and will have a 40-hour workweek by 2024, according to new legislation passed by the state’s legislature and sent to the state’s governor to sign.
 

Senate Bill 5172 passed both state houses with bipartisan support.
California passed a similar bill in 2016.

Washington lawmakers said the legislation addresses the historical exceptions of agricultural work from overtime standards from both the federal fair labor standards act and the state minimum wage act when they were enacted over 60 years ago.

“Excluded from the opportunity to earn overtime pay, farmworkers across our state remain among our state’s poorest workers,” the legislation said.

At the same time, authors of the legislation said the phase-in approach will protect farmers.

“This act’s transitional approach is reasonable to achieve the legislature’s purpose of increasing the safety of an at risk and essential workforce, increasing the public welfare of low-income individuals by removing a historical barrier to their earning potential, and maintaining the food security and economic security provided by a stable agricultural sector,” the bill said.

According to a report The Seattle Times, agriculture industry officials will seek future changes in regulations that would give additional relief to growers, notably a seasonality provision to give growers a higher hourly threshold for overtime during peak harvest periods. 
According to the text of the legislation: 

• Beginning January 1, 2022, any agricultural employee shall not be employed for more than 55 hours in any one workweek unless the agricultural employee receives one and one-half times that agricultural employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 55 in any one workweek;
• Beginning January 1, 2023, any agricultural employee shall not be employed for more than 48 hours in any one workweek unless the agricultural employee receives one and one-half times that agricultural employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 48 in any one workweek;
• Beginning January 1, 2024, any agricultural employee shall not be employed for more than 40 hours in any one workweek unless the agricultural employee receives one and one-half times that agricultural employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in any one workweek.