Fairness for Farm Workers Act

More protections and overtime for farmworkers

If enacted, this bill would extend federal wage protections to many more agricultural workers and require overtime pay. You would no longer be excluded by several farmwork exemptions: paragraphs 13(b)(12)–(16) would be repealed (effective Jan 1, 2027 for employers with more than 25 employees and Jan 1, 2030 for employers with 25 or fewer). The enterprise exemption would be narrowed and the family-member exemption limited to parent, spouse, child, or immediate family (effective Jan 1, 2030 for larger employers and Jan 1, 2033 for smaller employers). The Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act coverage test would be tied to a 500 man-day-per-quarter test measured in the prior year, phased on the same 2030/2033 schedule. The bill would also require time-and-a-half overtime pay for hours above weekly limits, with a phase-in: for employers with more than 25 employees limits drop from 55 hours on Jan 1, 2027 to 50 on Jan 1, 2028, 45 on Jan 1, 2029, and 40 on Jan 1, 2030; employers with 25 or fewer get the same steps one year later, finishing Jan 1, 2033.