WAFLA Review of 2016 Pt 3

WAFLA Review of 2016 Pt 3

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. After a minimum wage hike and a list of new regulations in 2016, farm labor also saw the state Supreme Court decided to step in and make some changes...

DAN FAZIO ... "Finally, in 2016 we had kind of a distressing labor and employment trend. We had employers trying to react to the new law that was created in Washington state by the Supreme Court for piece-rate workers requiring additional pay for piece-rate workers for rest breaks. It's a real problem for employers when the Supreme Court takes off their judicial caps and puts on kind of a legislative cap, a super legislature, because sometimes those rulings can be retroactive."

But, WAFLA president Dan Fazio Supreme Court involvement continued to year's end ...

DAN FAZIO ... "we saw a lawsuit that was filed in Washington state asking the court to require all agricultural employers to pay time and a half for all hours greater than 40 in a week. And currently, the law clearly states that agriculture doesn't require overtime pay because many people in agriculture have to work more than 40 hours, especially during harvest, but we'll see what the court does with that, but I would urge the courts to respect the legislative process and stay out of the legislative arena."

Fazio says there are a host of other labor and employment issues they are studying, including union activity, mandatory time off, and the immigration reform battle currently happening in Congress, so 2017 should be eventful as well.

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