OLYMPIA, Wash. — The State Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Thursday that piece-rate farmworkers must be paid separately for down time outside of piece-rate picking work.
The Capital Press reports the ruling stems from a 2016 federal class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of seasonal and migrant workers against the Dovex Fruit Company of Wenatchee.
Justice Debra Stephens argued in the main dissent that the state’s Minimum Wage Act was not intended to forbid other compensation systems and that the majority has essentially rewritten the law.
She notes down time activities include moving ladders, weather down time and waiting for bins.