SB 1121 amends the Labor Code which previously only granted overtime pay for more than 10 hours in a day and 60 hours in a week.
This bill would "reverse a 1941 state law exempting agricultural employees from being paid one and one-half times their normal hourly rate after they work more than 8 hours in a day" as reported by the LA Times. This exemption "was partially modified in 1976 when the Industrial Welfare Commission ordered overtime pay after 10 hours on the job and for all work on the seventh day of a week after putting in six straight days of 10 hours or more."
The bill passed 46-26 in the Assembly and now waits for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision on whether or not to sign. A spokesman for Governor Schwarzenegger, Aaron McLear, said that he has not taken a position on the bill, as reported by Business Week. According to the LA Times, Governor Schwarzenegger has a "mixed record on agricultural labor issues." He has signed a bill "to prevent field workers from being poisoned by pesticides and backed regulations to protect them against heatstroke. He also has vetoed bills opposed by agribusiness that would have made it easier for unions to organize in the fields."
Supporters, including the sponsor of the bill Senator Dean Florez, argue that the issue is "fairness" and that farmworkers "shouldn't be discriminated against."
Bill Berryhill, an Assemblyman, argues that the agricultural industry with "deal with" the change by increasing the size of the crews and that it will "reduce pay by an average of 20% to 30% for most farmworkers."
For more information on California SB 1121, click here.
To read the LA Times story, click here.
To read the Businessweek story, click here.
Posted: 07/05/2010
