BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1066 (Gonzalez) - Agricultural workers: wages, hours, and
working conditions
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|Version: June 22, 2016 |Policy Vote: L. & I.R. 4 - 1 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Robert Ingenito |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1066 would remove an exemption in current law that
would extend the payment of overtime compensation to
agricultural employees after 8 hours of work in a day or 40 in a
week.
Fiscal
Impact: The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) indicates
that it would incur administrative costs of in the range of
$326,000 to $586,000 in the first year, and $311,000 to $563,000
annually thereafter (Labor Enforcement and Compliance Fund).
Background: In 1938, the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was
established to provide for minimum requirements with respect to
certain labor standards, including minimum wage and overtime.
AB 1066 (Gonzalez) Page 1 of
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The overtime provisions of FLSA were not extended to
agricultural employees. In 1941, the Legislature exempted all
agricultural employees from the statutory requirements of
overtime, similar to the FLSA. This statutory exemption was
retained when the eight-hour day was codified in 1999.
Despite this statutory exemption, the Industrial Welfare
Commission (IWC), under its authority, promulgated overtime
provisions beyond the traditional eight-hour standard of
California law. Currently, the applicable wage order for
agricultural employees requires the payment of overtime wages
when an agricultural employee works longer than 10 hours in a
single day, and more than six days during any workweek.
Proposed Law:
This bill would (1) remove the exemption for agricultural
employees regarding hours, meal breaks, and other specified
working conditions, and (2) enact the Phase-In Overtime for
Agricultural Workers Act of 2016, as specified. Specifically,
the bill would, among other things, do the following:
Provide that, beginning January 1, 2019, any person
employed in an agricultural occupation shall not be
employed more than 9 hours in any one workday or more
than 55 hours in any one workweek, unless he/she receives 1
times that employee's regular rate of pay for all hours
worked over 9 in a workday or over 55 in a week.
Provide that, beginning January 1, 2020, any person
employed in an agricultural occupation shall not be
employed more than 9 hours in any one workday or more than
50 hours in any one workweek, unless he/she receives 1
times that employee's regular rate of pay for all hours
worked over 9 in a workday or over 50 in a week.
Provide that, beginning January 1, 2021, any person
employed in an agricultural occupation shall not be
employed more than 8 hours in any one workday or more
than 45 hours in any one workweek, unless he/she receives 1
times that employee's regular rate of pay for all hours
worked over 8 in a workday or over 45 in a week.
AB 1066 (Gonzalez) Page 2 of
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Provide that, beginning January 1, 2022, any person
employed in an agricultural occupation shall not be
employed more than 8 hours in any one workday or more than
40 hours in any one workweek, unless he/she receives 1
times that employee's regular rate of pay for all hours
worked over 8 in a workday or over 40 in a week.
Provide that the term "employed in an agricultural
occupation" has the same meaning as the term found in the
IWC wage order for Agricultural Occupations.
Provide that, beginning January 1, 2022, any person
employed in an agricultural occupation who works in excess
of 12 hours in one day shall be compensated at the rate of
no less than twice the employee's regular rate of pay.
Provide that all other provisions of existing law
regarding compensation for overtime work shall apply to
workers in an agricultural occupation beginning January 1,
2019.
Authorize the Governor to temporarily suspend the
scheduled phase-in of overtime requirements set forth,
under specified conditions. If the Governor makes such a
determination, all implementation dates shall be postponed
by an additional year. This authority shall end upon the
final phase-in of overtime provisions, but not later than
January 1, 2022.
Require DIR to update Industrial Welfare Commission Wage
Order 14 to be consistent with the requirements in this
bill, except that any existing provisions providing greater
protections or benefits to agricultural employees shall
continue in full force and effect.
AB 1066 (Gonzalez) Page 3 of
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Related
Legislation: AB 2757 (Gonzalez) of 2016, was almost identical to
this bill. The bill failed passage on the Assembly floor.
Staff
Comments: DIR's fiscal estimate of the bill assumes a 10 to 20
percent increase in wage claims annually during the four-year
implementation phase. These cost estimates reflect resources for
additional staffing and outreach to employers and employees. The
bill proposes a substantial shift in the industry and since the
hours and rates of pay change annually during the implementation
phase, DIR notes that employees may not know their rights and
employers may not know which timeframe applies for any given
year. Once the bill is fully implemented, potential uncertainty
should subside, and consequently, costs are likely to be lower.
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