Vermont H 403: An act relating to fair labor standards and housing standards for agricultural workers

Bill Text

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VT LEG #380747 v.1
H.403 1
Introduced by Representative Surprenant of Barnard 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Labor; agriculture; employment practices; minimum wages; 5
agricultural workers; farm employee housing 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to repeal the 7
exemption of agricultural workers from the applicability of the minimum wage 8
laws and to provide overtime pay for agricultural workers. This bill also 9
proposes to provide inspections to determine the adequacy of farm employee 10
housing and a mechanism to address violations of the Vermont Residential 11
Rental Housing Health and Safety Code. 12
An act relating to fair labor standards and housing standards for agricultural 13
workers 14
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 15
Sec. 1. SHORT TITLE 16
This act may be cited as the “Agricultural Workers’ Fair Labor Standards 17
and Housing Act.” 18

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Sec. 2. 21 V.S.A. § 383 is amended to read: 1
§ 383. DEFINITIONS 2
As used in this subchapter: 3
(1) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Labor or designee. 4
(2) “Employee” means any individual employed or permitted to work by 5
an employer except: 6
(A) any individual employed in agriculture, provided the individual is 7
the agricultural employer’s parent, spouse, or child; 8
* * * 9
Sec. 3. 21 V.S.A. § 384 is amended to read: 10
§ 384. EMPLOYMENT; WAGES 11
(a)(1) Beginning on January 1, 2022, an employer shall not employ any 12
employee at a rate of less than $12.55, and on each subsequent January 1, the 13
minimum wage rate shall be increased by five percent or the percentage 14
increase of the Consumer Price Index, CPI-U, U.S. city average, not seasonally 15
adjusted, or successor index, as calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor or 16
successor agency for the 12 months preceding the previous September 1, 17
whichever is smaller, but in no event shall the minimum wage be decreased. 18
The minimum wage shall be rounded off to the nearest $0.01. 19
* * * 20

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(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, an employer shall not 1
pay an employee less than one and one-half times the regular wage rate for any 2
work done by the employee in excess of 40 hours during a workweek. 3
However, this subsection shall not apply to: 4
* * * 5
(9) Any individual employed in agriculture, provided the employee 6
receives not less than one and one-half times the regular wage rate for any 7
work done by the employee in excess of 60 hours per week, effective January 8
1, 2026. This subdivision shall not apply if the individual is the agricultural 9
employer’s parent, spouse, or child. 10
* * * 11
Sec. 4. 6 V.S.A. chapter 213 is added to read: 12
CHAPTER 213. ADEQUACY OF FARM EMPLOYEE HOUSING 13
§ 4751. DEFINITIONS 14
As used in this chapter: 15
(1) “Farm” has the same meaning as in section 2.14 of the Required 16
Agricultural Practices. 17
(2) “Farm employee” means an individual employed by a farm 18
employer for farming. 19
(3) “Farm employee housing” means housing owned or controlled by a 20
farm employer, whether located on or off the farm premises and provided for 21

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the occupancy of the farm employee and the farm employee’s family or 1
household members. 2
(4) “Farm employer” means a person engaged in farming who is: 3
(A) required to obtain a large farm permit or medium farm permit 4
under chapter 215 of this title; or 5
(B) is subject to the Required Agricultural Practices under chapter 6
215 of this title and who earns at least one quarter of their annual gross income 7
from the business of farming. 8
(5) “Farming” has the same meaning as in section 2.16 of the Required 9
Agricultural Practices. 10
(6) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets. 11
§ 4752. ADEQUACY OF FARM EMPLOYEE HOUSING; INSPECTION 12
(a) When the Secretary conducts a scheduled inspection of a farm under 13
chapter 215 of this title, the Secretary shall determine if farm employee 14
housing is in use on the farm and shall survey farm employees regarding the 15
adequacy, availability, and safety of the farm employee housing. 16
(b)(1) To facilitate the survey of the farm employee housing, the Secretary 17
shall provide farm employees with a form containing questions regarding the 18
farm employee housing. The form shall, at a minimum, include the following 19
questions: 20

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(A) Is the farm employee housing provided voluntarily or are you 1
required to reside in the farm employee housing as a condition of employment? 2
(B) Was the farm employee housing provided in clean working 3
order? 4
(C) Does the farm employer provide proper and timely maintenance, 5
without undue delay? 6
(D) Do you pay rent for