Send your support to legislators now! As your legislator to support the Fairness for Farmworkers Act!
and Members of the Joint Committee on Revenue,
who greatly benefits from the work of farmworkers, and I support the Fairness for Farmworkers Act because
This bill addresses the provisions of Massachusetts law that exclude farmworkers from wage-and-hour protections afforded to other workers. The law currently allows farmworkers to receive a sub-minimum wage of $8.00 an hour, a rate that is 40% lower than the state minimum wage and is inadequate to support a decent standard of living. Additionally, many farmworkers work up to 60 hours a week during growing season, but farmworkers are exempt from overtime pay and a day of rest that the law provides for other workers. These inequalities contribute to high levels of poverty and marginalization among some of the state’s most essential workers and harm farmworkers, their families and the community at large.
The Fairness for Farmworkers Act will take important steps toward resolving these indefensible injustices by:
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abolishing the minimum wage exemption for agricultural and farm work, thereby entitling farmworkers to the state minimum wage;
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allowing farmworkers to earn paid time off up to 55-hours a year to rest and spend time with their families;
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providing overtime pay for farmworkers. Year-round employees will be entitled to one-and-a-half their normal rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week. Seasonal farmworkers will receive one-and-a-half their normal rate of pay for any work performed in excess of 55 hours per week;
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providing farm employers with a temporary tax credit to cover a portion of the overtime premiums paid.
I ask that you support this critical piece of legislation and ask that the Committee report this bill out favorably. If you need any further information, you can visit fairnessforfarmworkersma.org or reach out to the Fairness for Farmworkers Coalition leaders at cquintero@cwjustice.org and mmccann@cwjustice.org.
Thank you for supporting the FFA!
