Washington SB 5487: Authorizing agricultural employers to select 12 weeks a year to employ workers for up to 50 hours a week before overtime applies.

Bill Text

AN ACT Relating to authorizing an agricultural employer to select 1
any 12 weeks in a calendar year as special circumstance weeks for 2
labor demand, during which in each of the selected 12 weeks, the 3
agricultural employer may employ agricultural employees for up to 50 4
hours before the requirement to pay overtime applies under RCW 5
49.46.130; amending RCW 49.46.130; creating a new section; and 6
declaring an emergency.7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:8
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature recognizes the vital 9
importance of Washington's agricultural labor force and its 10
contributions to the state's cultural, economic, and social 11
diversity. The legislature also recognizes the economic burden placed 12
on agricultural workers through the enactment of the overtime pay 13
law. Since its inception, the law has had the unintended consequences 14
of reduced hours of employment and a corresponding loss of earned 15
income.16
(2) In 2020, in a 5-4 opinion, the Washington supreme court ruled 17
in Martinez-Cuevas v. DeRuyter Bros. Dairy (DeRuyter) that the 18
existing exemption from overtime in agricultural employment was 19
unconstitutional as it applied to employment in the dairy industry. 20
In reaching its conclusion, the court distinguished between regular 21
S-0836.1
SENATE BILL 5487
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators King, Chapman, Dozier, Holy, Schoesler, Short, Torres,
Warnick, and J. Wilson
Read first time 01/24/25. Referred to Committee on Labor & Commerce.
p. 1 SB 5487

hours worked in dairy production and the seasonal nature of 1
agricultural crop production. In 2021, the legislature repealed a 2
state law in effect since 1959 that exempted agricultural workers 3
from overtime pay, effectively extending the DeRuyter decision to all 4
production agriculture. With this historic legislation, Washington 5
became among the first states in the nation to impose an overtime pay 6
requirement for agricultural workers working more than 40 hours per 7
week. Recognizing that such a change would be a sizeable shift in 8
practice for all farmers and agricultural workers across the state, 9
the legislature adopted a phased-in approach, but did not address the 10
seasonal needs of Washington agriculture given the time-sensitive 11
nature of growing and harvesting mature field crops and perishable 12
fruits and vegetables.13
(3) To assess potential impacts to Washington's agricultural 14
workforce, the legislature looks to the state of California that 15
adopted a similar phased-in policy in 2016 that came into full effect 16
in 2019, in which hours of work after 40 hours per week must be paid 17
overtime. In a study conducted by Alexandra E. Hill, assistant 18
professor in the department of agricultural and resource economics at 19
the University of California, Berkeley, she stated: "California's new 20
overtime law for agricultural workers went into effect in 2019. In 21
the two years following this, I find that the law led to decreases in 22
weekly working hours and earnings for California crop workers. These 23
losses are consistent with employers restricting hours to avoid 24
paying the higher overtime rates." California's experience is now 25
playing out in Washington as evidenced by nearly 300 farm workers 26
coming to the state capitol in January of 2024, demanding that the 27
current policy be changed and that their previous hours of employment 28
be reinstated.29
(4) Agriculture is the second largest driver of Washington's 30
economy and is unique from other types of industry due to pressures 31
on farmers, ranchers, and workers caused by circumstances largely 32
beyond their control. These include the uncertainty of weather, 33
yields, livestock production, national and international shifts in 34
trade policy, and transportation inconsistencies.35
(5) The legislature recognizes that in 2023, labor expenses per 36
farming operation in Washington were 462 percent higher than the 37
national average and Washington is currently losing on average, two 38
farms per day. The legislature further recognizes that farmers do not 39
control their own prices and cannot simply respond to increased 40
p. 2 SB 5487

production costs by increasing the prices of their goods. What 1
farmers can do and have done is reduce hours for agricultural workers 2
and limit harvest production due to increased costs directly related 3
to the elimination of the overtime exemption. These economic 4
pressures are also impacting agriculture workers' mental health, and 5
agriculture suicides are nearly 25 percent higher than the overall 6
state rate. From 2020 through 2022, the suicide rate for agricultural 7
workers in Washington state was 21.1 per 100,000 people, compared 8
with 14.9 per 100,000 people for the state's general population.9
(6) The legislature finds that it is reasonable to allow 10
agricultural employers limited flexibility to shape work schedules 11