OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington State agricultural workers will be eligible for overtime soon.
A new state law allows dairy workers to earn overtime pay starting on July 25th, and all other agricultural workers will become eligible in January 2022.
Agricultural workers were exempt from the the state’s Minimum Wage Act requirements until a group of dairy workers challenged that rule in a case decided by the state Supreme Court last year.
The court ruled workers had a constitutional right to protections for health and safety.
After that ruling, the Washington State legislature passed a new law removing the agricultural exemption and extending benefits to workers in the industry.
