Farming in 40 hours: Washington’s overtime mandate for agricultural workers began its phase-in process at the start of 2022, and this is the continuation of several stories examining the impacts on the fruit industry.

With a new year come new compliance challenges and looming legal liabilities to heed, according to speakers at the “Navigating the Legal Minefield” session at the Washington State Tree Fruit Association Annual Meeting in December. Lawyers and an H-2A contractor shared updates on Washington labor laws, including overtime, downtime, farm labor contracting and increasing scrutiny from retailers on H-2A recruiting.

Overtime and downtime

The biggest issue for 2022: Overtime is here. And the past two years of pandemic panic for employers means few companies have had time to test how best to adapt their management to overtime mandates, attorney Sarah Wixson said.

This year, ag employers must pay overtime at time and a half for workers who exceed 55 hours a week. In 2024, ag joins every other industry with overtime pay kicking in after 40 hours, said Wixson, an employment attorney with Stokes Lawrence Velikanje Moore & Shore in Yakima. (After a similar, phased-in approach, California now requires overtime pay over 40 hours for agricultural workers this year.)

While some employers may be tempted to circumvent the overtime rules by switching more employees to salary, Wixson explained that under Washington law, there’s both a minimum salary and specific duty...

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