A California farmworker overtime bill that would dramatically adjust the overtime pay of agricultural employees was recently passed by state lawmakers.

This California farmworker overtime bill would not only bring down these employees’ workweeks to the equivalent of hourly workers in other industries, but also grant seasonal workers both overtime pay and meal breaks.

The changes promised by this California farmworker overtime bill are not immediate, and would instead by phased in over the course of four years. Changes would occur from 2019 to 2022, legislative records state.

The California farmworker overtime bill, otherwise known as Assembly Bill 1066, first addresses the issue of the standard farmworker’s workweek. Currently, farmworkers are expected to work 10-hour days.

The bill lowers this workday to equal the standard eight-hour work day, totaling the commonly accepted standard of a 40-hour workweek. This change would take all four years, as workers’ schedules are shortened by half-hour increments each year.

The bill is heading to the California governor, Gov. Jerry Brown, for his signature.

This bill has bipartisan support, and passed by a good margin —44-32.

According to Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon, the vote in favor of the California farmworker overtime bill was a victory for the cause of economic justice.

Earlier this year California also voted to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Despite the bipartisan support, this bill is not without its opponents. They have argued that adding this new overtime bill on top of the minimum wage increase would “significantly reduce” farmworker income, as well as the state’s agricultural production, according to the Western Growers’ Association. The group called for a veto.

Still, the bill passed Assembly, and the California governor is expected to sign the bill shortly.

“We righted an 80-year-old wrong and said that hourly workers will have the same overtime protections, whether they are picking vegetables in a field, manufacturing their containers in a factory, or selling them in a store,” Speaker of the Assembly Rendon said. “Overtime after eight hours is the right thing to do on behalf of the people who put food on our tables.”

California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, who brought the California farmworkers overtime bill forward in the first place, agrees. “The whole world eats the food provided by California farmworkers, yet we don’t guarantee fair overtime pay for the backbreaking manual labor they put in to keep us fed,” Gonzalez said.

“We know this is the right thing to do, and thanks to the hard work of an incredible coalition throughout the state and across the country, we’re now one step closer to finally providing our hard-working farmworkers the dignity they deserve.”

California Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuits

Wage and hour laws, at both the state and federal level, are put in place to protect employees.

As evidenced by this new California farmworkers overtime bill, these laws are being continuously improved to best protect workers.

Employees who believe they are being paid unfair wages, not given proper rest periods, or denied overtime may be able to pursue litigation or complaints against their employers from violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or state labor laws.

Some employees may be afraid that pursuing litigation against their employer may result in serious consequences in the workplace, but FLSA protects workers from this kind of retaliation.

If you have worked for an employer that has failed to follow the Fair Labor Standards Act or the state labor laws of California, including unpaid overtime wages, you may be able to either join a wage and hour class action lawsuit or file a lawsuit individually.

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