Overtime Bill Moves On Pt 2
I’m Bob Larson. The Washington State Senate has approved a bill that now moves on the House that would phase in, over three years, overtime pay for ag workers. The bill also protects dairies and others in ag from lawsuits seeking three years back overtime pay, following November’s State Supreme Court Ruling that removed ag’s overtime exemption.
Pam Lewison, Initiative on Agriculture Director at the Washington Policy Center says she’s looking for more bipartisan support …
LEWISON-3 = 9 … “I hope so. You know, I’m always hopeful for bipartisan support any time an ag bill drops in anything.”
Lewison says it’s all about finding those opportunities …
LEWISON-4 = 19 … “And, I do think that there are opportunities for a bipartisan sense of cooperation to come at this bill in the House and really, I don’t want to say perfect it, but refine it so that it is equitable for everyone who is going to be touched by this piece of legislation.”
And that, Lewison says is no small number …
LEWISON-5 = 15 … “That’s a lot of people. The number the Farm Bureau uses is that we have 154,000 people in Washington state who are directly involved in agriculture labor. That’s a lot of folks who will be impacted by what happens with this piece of legislation.”
Listen tomorrow for more on Senate Bill 5172 and what needs to be done for it to have the impact it needs to for agriculture.
