Clayton, visibly upset, explained that the Central Washington farm’s fruit sales had not been covering costs. And she believes that the full implementation of the state’s agricultural overtime policy would make it even more challenging for farms like her family’s to stay in business.
For the agriculture industry, Clayton’s story illustrates the difficulties farmers may face with the adoption of a 40-hour workweek for every business, a law in effect since Jan. 1. Clayton testified in support of Senate Bill 5476, which would allow growers an exemption of up to 12 weeks in labor-intensive periods during which the overtime threshold would rise from 40 hours a week to 50.
“Agriculture
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