WASHINGTON - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

For purposes of the state Industrial Insurance law, “agriculture” is defined at WASH. REV. CODE ANN. § 51.08.014.
For purposes of the state’s Unemployment Compensation statute, “[a]gricultural labor” is defined at WASH. REV. CODE ANN. § 50.04.150.
While the state’s overtime statute does not specifically define agricultural worker, the law excludes from its coverage individuals employed on a farm or engaged in the packaging or processing of agricultural commodities (See WASH. REV. CODE ANN. § 49.46.130(g)):

There is a state minimum wage law. (WASH. REV. CODE ANN. §§ 49.46.005 – 49.46.920.)
Effective Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2023, the state’s hourly minimum wage is $15.74.
The state minimum wage is annually increased based on changes to the consumer price index.
Local minimum wage:
- Employers with workers in certain localities may be subject to a higher minimum wage than the state minimum wage rate.
Agricultural piece rate:
- Washington wage and hour law requires employers to pay adult agricultural pieceworkers on a piece-rate basis only for hours that they are engaged in piece-rate picking work and compensate such workers on a separate hourly basis that is the greater of the applicable minimum wage or the agreed-upon rate for time spent performing activities outside of piece-rate picking work.
There are multiple wage rates.
Local jurisdictions are not precluded from raising their minimum wage requirements for their jurisdictions.
Agricultural workers are covered by a state minimum wage law, but with some exceptions. (See WASH. REV. CODE ANN. § 49.46.010 (3)(a))
The Supreme Court of Washington has held that employees who are piece-rate workers must be paid minimum wage for time worked outside of piece-rate activities. See Carranza v. Dovex Fruit Co., 416 P.3d 1205 (2018).

There is a state law regarding overtime pay. Wash. Admin. Code § 296-128-550; Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 49.46.130.
Agricultural workers are covered by the state overtime law. A November 2020 Washington Supreme Court decision established that exempting dairy workers from state overtime protections violated the Washington State Constitution. Martinez-Cuevas v. Deruyter Bros. Dairy, Inc., 196 Wash. 2d 506 (2020). On May 11, 2021, Governor Jay Inslee signed into law SB 1572, creating overtime protections for agricultural workers. The legislative text sets out a phased-in approach. Starting in 2022, farmworkers will be entitled to overtime pay for any hours they work over the 55 hour-per-week cap. That cap will drop to 48 hours per week in 2023 and 40 hours per week in 2024.

Washington State Department of Labor & Industries

Agricultural workers are covered by the state workers’ compensation law with no exceptions. (Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §§ 51.12.010 – 51.12.185)

State Enforcement Agency:

Washington State Department of Labor & Industries

There is a state law regarding field sanitation. (Wash. Admin. Code § 296-307-09503)

State Enforcement Agency:

Labor & Industries

Website: https://www.lni.wa.gov//safety-health/

There is a state law regarding pesticide use and safety in agriculture, including a provision requiring the adoption of standards at least as effective as the federal WPS. (WASH. REV. CODE ANN. §§ 17.21.010 – 17.21.933 (Washington Pesticide Application Act); WASH. REV. CODE ANN. §§ 17.21.440 (agricultural worker protection); WASH. ADMIN. CODE §§ 16-233 (Worker Protection Standards); WASH. REV. CODE ANN. §§ 15.58.010 – 15.58.980 (Washington Pesticide Control Act))
Suspected pesticide poisoning is a reportable illness for health care providers. Wash. Admin. Code § 246-101-101. Pesticide-related hospitalizations, death, or cluster cases must be reported immediately. All other suspected pesticide-related illnesses must be reported within 3 days.

State Enforcement Agency:

Washington Department of Agriculture, Pesticide Management Division

(Enforcement shared with Washington Department of Labor and Industries, Division of Occupational Safety and Health – WAC 296-307-100 et seq.)

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.
There is a state statute that grants agricultural workers the right to engage in concerted activity, join and organize labor unions free from retaliation. WASH. REV. CODE ANN. 49.32.020, Bravo v. Dolsen, 125 Wn.2d 745, 888 P.2d 147 (1995).
There is a state statute that establishes a broad right for individuals to organize unions. Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §§ 49.36.010. This statute has been interpreted to apply to agricultural workers. State v. Fox, 510 P.2d 230 (1973)

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