California - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

• California defines those “employed in an agricultural occupation” at CAL. CODE REGS. tit. 8, § 11140(2)(d). 
• Separate wage orders govern “Industries Handling Products After Harvest” (CAL. CODE REGS. tit. 8, § 11080) and “Industries Preparing Agricultural Products for Market, on the Farm” (CAL. CODE. REGS. tit. 8, § 11130)

Wages and Overtime

Minimum Wage

• California has a state minimum wage law. (Cal. Labor Code § 1182.12)
• Current minimum wage is $15.50 effective Jan. 1, 2023.
• There are multiple local minimum wage rates as well. 
• The minimum wage rate is indexed for inflation and automatically adjusted each year for increases in prices.
• The state minimum wage applies to workers in agricultural occupations, (CAL. LAB. CODE § 1182.12; CAL. CODE REGS. tit. 8, § 11140).

Overtime

• California has a state law regarding overtime pay. (CAL. LAB. CODE § 510 )
• Workers in agricultural occupations are covered by state overtime law on a incremental basis, commencing in 2019 for employers with 26 or more employees and 2022 for employers with 25 or fewer employees. (CAL LAB. CODE §§ 860, 862).
•  Incremental overtime (CAL. LAB. CODE § 860 CAL. CODE REGS. tit. 8, § 11140):
• January 1, 2019: any person who works in an agricultural occupation cannot be employed for more than 9.5 hours in one workday or work more than 55 hours in any workweek, unless the employee receives 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 9.5 hrs per day or 55 per week.
• This overtime provision will not apply to employers with 25 or fewer employees until January 1, 2022. However, employers with 25 or fewer employees must currently pay overtime after 10 hours per day, 60 hours per week, and for work in excess of 8 hours performed on the 7th consecutive day. (Wage orders at CAL. CODE REGS. tit. 8, § 11140)
• January 1, 2020: agricultural workers will receive overtime of 1.5 regulate rate when they work more than 9 hours per day or more than 50 hours per week (This provision will not apply to employer with 25 or fewer employees until January 1, 2023.)
• Starting January 1, 2023, employers with 25 or fewer employees will be required to pay overtime for all hours after an agricultural employee works over nine hours in a workday or over 50 hours in a workweek.

• January 1, 2021: any agricultural worker that works more than 8.5 hours per day or 45 hours per week will be paid overtime at 1.5 times their regular rate of pay.
•   This provision will not apply to employers with 25 or fewer employees until January 1, 2024

• January 1, 2022: any agricultural worker who works more than 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week will be paid overtime at 1.5 times their regular rate. Double the regular rate of pay will be required after 12 hours in a workday.
•   This provision will not apply to employers with 25 or fewer employees until January 1, 2025.

State Enforcement Agency

State Enforcement Agency:
Department of Industrial Relations, Labor Commissioner’s Office 

Website: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/howtofilewageclaim.htm
Relevant Forms: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Wage_Claim_forms.html 

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. (Cal. Labor Code § 3351; Ruiz v. Cabrera, Cal. App. 5th Dist. May 30, 2002)

State Enforcement Agency:
Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers’ Compensation

Website: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/
Relevant Forms: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/forms.html 

Field Sanitation

• California has a number of state laws and regulations regarding field sanitation. CAL LAB. CODE § 6712 (authority to adopt standard for field sanitation); CAL. CODE REGS. tit. 8, § 3457(c) (agricultural operations involving hand-labor operations); CAL. CODE REGS. tit. 8, §§ 3360–68 (agricultural operations not involving hand-labor operations), CAL. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE §§ 113310–113360 (Food Crop Growing); CAL. CODE REGS. tit. 17, §§ 8000–8013 (Food Crop Growing and Harvesting Sanitation).
• California’ heat illness prevention regulation further mandates provision of a specific amount of drinking water (at least one quart per employee per hour) and access to shade, and specifies other situation-specific procedures. (CAL. CODE REGS. tit, 8,§ 3395; see also “Employee Drinking Water Access,” CAL. LAB. CODE § 2441)

State Enforcement Agency:
State of California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Occupational Safety and Health

Website https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/
Complaint Filing and Relevant Forms: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/Complaint.htm 

Pesticide Safety

• California has state laws and regulations regarding pesticide use in agriculture. (CA Food and Agriculture Code – Division 6, Pest Control Operations and Division 7 Agricultural Chemicals, Livestock Remedies and Commercial Feed; CA Code of Regulations – Title 3, Division 6. Pesticides and Pest Control Operations).
• State law requires site and date specific reporting of all pesticide use for production agriculture. (CCR Title 3 section 6624-6628). 
• State regulation enforces restricted entry intervals (REIs) for several pesticides that are longer than label requirements (CCR Title 3 section 6772).
• Suspected pesticide poisoning is a reportable illness for health care providers. Physicians are required to report any case of suspected pesticide illness to the local county health officer within 24 hours. (California Code of Regulations, Health and Safety Code section 105200) 

State Enforcement Agency:
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation oversees pesticide regulation enforcement but delegates local enforcement to County Agricultural Commissioners.

Website: https://www.cdpr.ca.gov

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment provides physician training and a registry of physicians providing medical supervision for pesticide applicators.

• Physician pesticide illness reporting: https://oehha.ca.gov/pesticides/pesticide-illness-surveillance-pesticide-illness-reporting

Right to Join Unions and Collective Bargaining in Agriculture

• There is a state statute that grants agricultural workers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation (such as being fired, demoted or disciplined) and to engage in collective bargaining with agricultural employers.

• The California Agricultural Labor Relations Act (“CALRA”) is part of the California Code and it encourages and protects the right of agricultural employees to full freedom of association, self–organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, to negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment, and to be free from the interference, restraint, or coercion of employers of labor, or their agents, in the designation of such representatives or in self–organization or in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.  (Cal. Lab. Code § 1140, et. seq.) (Cal. Lab. Code § 1152.)

State Enforcement Agency: 

California Agricultural Labor Relations Board

https://www.alrb.ca.gov/

State Legal Services Organizations

California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc.
http://www.crla.org/