OLYMPIA, Wash. — A proposal to allow ag employers increased flexibility on overtime pay was rejected Friday.
The Republican amendment to Senate Bill 5172 would have allowed agricultural employers to choose 12 weeks a year to be paid overtime wages after 50 hours rather than 40.
The Capital Press reports the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee’s four democrats voted against the so-called peak harvest proposal.
Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, D-Mukilteo, said farm workers have been laboring “for free.”, later clarifying that she meant they were not getting time and a half pay for hours over 40.
Republicans in favor of the proposal said during peak season, the work of harvest cannot be limited to an 8 to 5 work day, adding that higher costs cannot be simply passed on to consumers in the competitive ag market.
The House labor committee passed SB 5172 without any amendments and it now goes to the full House for a vote.