Idaho - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

Idaho state law does not define ‘agricultural worker,’ but it adopts the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) definition of ‘agriculture’ at Idaho Code § 44-1503. 

Wages and Overtime

Minimum Wage

• Idaho has a state minimum wage law.  (Idaho Code Ann. § 44-1501)
• The current state minimum wage is $7.25/hr. Idaho’s minimum wage conforms to the federal minimum wage. (Idaho Code Ann. § 44-1502)
• There are different wage rates for different occupations, such as tipped workers and workers under the age of 20.  
• *Note: Idaho does not allow any subdivision of the state to have a minimum wage rate different from the state wage rate. 
• Agricultural workers are covered by the state minimum wage, but with some exceptions – See Idaho Code Ann. § 44-1504(7). 

Overtime

Idaho does not have a state law regarding overtime pay.

State Enforcement Agency

State Enforcement Agency: 

Idaho Department of Labor

Website: www.labor.idaho.gov 
Relevant Forms: https://www.labor.idaho.gov/dnn/Job-Seekers/Complaints

Occupational Safety and Health

Workers’ Compensation

• Agricultural workers are covered by the state workers’ compensation law with no exceptions.  Employers are required to cover agricultural workers to same extent as all other workers. (Idaho Code Ann. § 72-203)

State Enforcement Agency:
Idaho Industrial Commission

Website: https://iic.idaho.gov/ 
Relevant Forms: https://iic.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2018/01/ic_1_froi.pdf

Field Sanitation

• Idaho has a state law regarding field sanitation. (Idaho Code §§ 44-1901 – 44-1905)

State Enforcement Agency:
County Sheriff’s Offices can enforce the misdemeanor penalties (Idaho Code § 44-1905).

Pesticide Safety

• Idaho has a state law regarding pesticide safety in agriculture. (Idaho Code §§ 22-3401-3426)
• Suspected pesticide poisoning is not a mandatory reportable illness for health care providers, but health care providers may choose to report. 

State Enforcement Agency:
Idaho State Department of Agriculture, Pesticides Department

Website: https://agri.idaho.gov/main/56-2/pesticides/

Right to Join Unions and Collective Bargaining in Agriculture

• There is no provision (or judicial interpretation of a provision) in the state constitution that grants farmworkers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation or to engage in collective bargaining with their employers.
• Idaho is a ‘right to work’ state (Idaho Code § 44-2001), meaning no person can be compelled to join a union as a condition of employment or be required to pay union dues. At the same time, an employer may not threaten or intimidate an employee to compel them to refrain from joining, affiliating with, or financially supporting a labor organization.

State Legal Services Organizations

Idaho Legal Aid Services, Inc.
http://www.idaholegalaid.org