Farmworkers Will Soon Be Able To Receive Overtime Pay In Washington State

Washington state could soon become the first in the nation to mandate time and a half overtime pay for farmworkers. Food writer Corby Kummer spoke to Boston Public Radio on Friday about the state legislation that will likely be passed into law by the end of the month.

“Washington state has finally agreed to pay farmworkers living wages by agreeing to overtime,” Kummer said. “The state is taking the lead in employment protection and acknowledging that farmworkers work much longer than 40 hour weeks, and so their employers are required to pay time and a half for anything over 40 hours.”

The average farmworker works 60 hours a week, Kummer noted, and those hours have never included overtime pay.

Kummer praised Washington for becoming the first state with such strong laws but noted his frustration over how long it has taken to secure such rights.

Kummer is a senior editor at The Atlantic, an award-winning food writer, and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy.