Washington Supreme Court: Farmworkers to get overtime pay
Source: AP
SEATTLE (AP) — A divided Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday the state’s dairy workers are entitled to overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours a week, a decision expected to apply to the rest of the agriculture industry.
For the past 60 years, state law — like federal law — has exempted farmworkers from classes of workers who are entitled to overtime pay, but in a 5-4 ruling the court found that unconstitutional. The majority said the Washington state Constitution grants workers in dangerous industries a fundamental right to health and safety protections, including overtime, which is intended to discourage employers from forcing employees to work excessive hours.
The ruling applied directly only to the dairy industry, but its reasoning covers other farmworkers as well, said Lori Isley, an attorney with the nonprofit Columbia Legal Services who represented the dairy workers.
“Since 1983, the Washington Supreme Court has recognized that all farm work is very dangerous work, so it’s very easy to see how this will extend to all farmworkers,” Isley said. “We are so happy to see the law in our state moving forward in this direction.”
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/washington-agriculture-d4d155379061da6798e1790342093ed4
