Washington state’s agricultural community is preparing for its first year paying time-and-a-half to farmworkers. While the law isn’t new, the implementation of it is.
Earlier this week, Oregon’s governor signed their version of an ag overtime bill and, honestly, it’s just better than Washington’s law. It strikes a balance between trying to pay farmworkers more and acknowledging the financial hit farm employers will have to absorb at the same time.
Time for a little PNW Ag Overtime Showdown:
Washington’s timeline
Dairy producers in Washington state were required to begin paying time-and-a-half for any hours worked beyond 40 after the Washington State Supreme Court ruled the overtime exemption for agriculture was unconstitutional in the Martinez-Cuevas v. DeRuyter Bros. Dairy court case. Under the ruling, dairy producers should have started abiding by the overtime requirement Nov. 5, 2020.
During the 2021 legislative session, Senate Bill 5172 was originally introduced as a protectionary measure to ensure the rest of the agricultural community could not be sued for back wages in further legal disputes. Instead, the bill introduced overtime pay for all agricultural employees phased in on a three-year schedule beginning this year. Farmworkers are eligible for time-and-a-half pay after 55 hours of work during a workweek; next year that threshold drops to 48 hours; and in 2024, the overtime threshold drops to 40 hours.
Oregon’s timeline
Overtime pay in Oregon will phase in over a...
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