Fairness for Farm Workers Act

What it does

• •Establishes overtime pay requirements for agricultural workers, phasing in from 55 hours per week (starting January 1, 2027) down to 40 hours per week (by January 1, 2030) for employers with more than 25 employees, with a 3-year delayed timeline for smaller employers.
• •Removes broad exemptions for agricultural workers from Fair Labor Standards Act protections, limiting the family-farm exemption to employees who are parents, spouses, children, or immediate family members of the employer.
• •Repeals multiple agricultural exemptions from minimum wage and other labor protections that previously applied to certain categories of farm workers.

Why it matters

• •Agricultural workers have historically been excluded from federal overtime protections available to other workers; this legislation brings them into the standard overtime framework.
• •The phased implementation allows employers time to adjust payroll and operations before the 40-hour overtime threshold takes full effect.

Who is affected

• •Agricultural workers employed by farms and agricultural enterprises engaged in interstate commerce or production of goods for commerce.
• •Agricultural employers of all sizes, with different compliance timelines based on workforce size (25 employees or fewer versus more than 25 employees).

What happens next

The bill was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for consideration and remains pending legislative action.