Reprinted from Dairy Herd Management
According to a report by the Sacramento Bee the state Senate voted
Thursday, to repeal the exemption of farm workers from the
state's 69-year-old law requiring payment of overtime after
eights hours of work.
The Senate bill 1121 is expected to pass the Assembly. Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger would have the final word.
According to
Anthony Raimondo, agriculture labor law attorney with
McCormick Barstow in Fresno, Calif., this bill would have a massive
and catastrophic impact on the dairy industry.
Most dairy employees work nine to 10 hours per day, which is
currently regular time. If it was overtime, labor costs go up
considerably, says Raimondo.
For example, if a milker worked a 10-hour shift, six days per week,
under the current law at $8 per hour he would earn $480 per
week.
Under SB1121, the milker would be paid 40 hours at $8 per hour,
plus 18 overtime hours at $12 per hour. For a week's pay of
$536, this is 12 percent higher than the current law.
"Remember that payroll numbers drive other costs, like payroll
taxes and workers' compensation," reminds Raimondo.
"This is not what agriculture needs in these difficult times,
particularly in the dairy industry."
For more, read: California lawmaker hopes to win one more for
farmworkers
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