Proposed Overtime Tax Credit for CA Farms Fails in Committee

According to an Ag Alert written by Caleb Hampton for the California Farm Bureau, a bill aimed at supporting California farms and farmworkers didn’t make it out of committee last month.

Senate Bill 628 proposed a tax credit to help farmers cover the cost of overtime wages—costs that increased after a 2016 law phased in new overtime rules for farmworkers. Since then, workers must be paid time and a half after 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week.

Supporters of the bill said it would help preserve jobs and restore hours that some workers lost. A University of California study found that by 2022, farmworkers in the state were working an average of five fewer hours per week—roughly $100 in lost income.

Guadalupe Gonzalez, a vineyard crew leader from Suisun City, told lawmakers she and her partner have lost about a third of their income due to reduced hours. “This bill could make our daily life a little better,” she said.

The bill received support from both grower and worker organizations but was voted down along party lines in committee.

You can find more at https://www.agalert.com/california-ag-news/archives/may-7-2025/tax-credit-aiming-to-offset-overtime-dies-in-committee/