Historically, farm laborers have worked longer hours than any other kind of workers. They’d often begin work before sunrise and keep working until long after sunset. Unlike people who worked in shops or factories, though, they traditionally did not receive compensation for working overtime.
The current Oregon Legislature, however, is not made up of people who think, “This is how it’s always been done”. Governor Brown signed House Bill 4002 into law earlier this week, which, beginning in 2023, will phase out the state’s overtime pay exemption for agricultural workers over a five-year span. Over the course of six years, employers will receive gradually diminishing tax credits to cushion the new burden of overtime pay.
In a letter addressed to two leading members of the state legislature, Democratic Senate President Peter Courtney of Salem and Democratic Speaker Dan Rayfield of Corvallis, Brown wrote that she views the bill “as an important step in the right direction, to correct a historic wrong.”
The letter reads, in part, “It is incumbent upon the stakeholders and policymakers alike to closely monitor the impacts of this legislation, and remain open to making adjustments based on the data and information we collect through the implementation process.”
Brown continued, “This policy will make a significant difference in the lives of farmworkers and their families… It has the potential to improve health, safety and overall, the quality of life for these workers.”
While the Governor was unstinting in promoting the benefits to farmworkers, her letter described the tax credits as “vital” to the success of the change in policy, protecting farmers from an overwhelming new salary burden.
Conversely, the Oregon Farm Bureau, which opposed the legislation, doesn’t think temporary tax credits are enough to prevent the new salary cost from being disastrous for the state’s 37,000 farms.
Reyna Lopez, Executive Director of Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), Oregon’s largest farmworkers union, expressed support for the bill’s signing in a text message to Oregon Capital Chronicle: “We’re grateful the governor has moved forward with ratifying the hard work of the Oregon Legislature. Leading up to it taking effect, PCUN will be working on educating farm laborers about the phased implementation.”
By John M. Burt
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