- A law that will soon restrict farm workers to 40 hours a week before they qualify for overtime pay is not only affecting workers’ wallets, but may soon affect produce prices.
- Senate Bill 5172 was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee in 2021. It enacts the phase-in of the overtime threshold over the course of three years. Currently, Washington state farm workers can work up to 48 hours before they qualify for overtime. In 2024, the threshold would drop down to 40 hours a week.
- State Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, said, along with farm workers seeing less hours, producers are also affected by the overtime threshold, which could lead to supply and demand issues.
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Dispute Over Farm Workers’ Hours Threatens To Cause Supply Shortages, Higher Prices
fruit (Alexander Schimmeck for Unsplash)
