Ag worker 40-hour week bill now in WA House
By Terry Murry on Monday, March 15th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
OLYMPIA – A bill that would end an exemption on overtime for agricultural workers in Washington state is now before the Washington House of Representatives. Senate Bill 5172 passed the Senate last week just before the first legislative cut-off date.
The bill was first proposed by Sen. Curtis King (R-Yakima) and it passed 37 to 12. If it’s to become law this year it has to pass the house by the April 11 deadline. The measure has the backing of many farm employers as well as their employees. Farm workers have been exempted from overtime pay since 1938.
The bill was amended to establish a three-year phase-in period of the new requirement. Beginning in January 2022 overtime would be due after 55 hours of work in a week. That would become 48 hours the next year and hit 40 hours in 2024. The bill grew out of a Washington state Supreme Court decision in November that granted overtime protections for dairy workers.
