Overtime for Agricultural Workers
The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) does not require that employees who are employed in agriculture receive the federal overtime payment of time and one-half their regular rates for hours worked more than 40 hours per week. However, states are free to enact their own regulations that mandate overtime requirements for agricultural workers. Several states have taken that step and have implemented their own requirements. The majority of the states mandating overtime for farmworkers are doing so on a schedule to build up to the final hours’ requirement.
For example, California started to phase in an overtime requirement for agricultural workers in 2019. In 2019, California required that people employed in an agricultural occupation could not be employed more than nine and one-half hours or work more than 55 hours in a workweek without receiving overtime compensation. In 2020, the hours in a day decreased to 9, and the hours in a week were reduced to 50 for overtime compensation. Each year the hours decrease until the final overtime requirements are in place. Starting January 1, 2022, in California, it is required that any agricultural employee working more than 8 hours a day or more than 40 hours a week receive overtime compensation. Additionally, like several other states, California has a slightly different schedule for small employers, 25 or fewer employees, giving them more time to implement these changes.
The table below shows the general overtime requirements of each state as well as any additional agricultural overtime requirements. This compilation is current through January 2022.
| State | Relevant Provisions | General Overtime Requirement | Agricultural Workers Included |
| Alabama | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Alaska | AS § 23.10.060 | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Arizona | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 11-4-211. | After 40 hours per week | No |
| California | Cal. Labor Code § 510 | After 40 hours per week | Yes |
| Colorado | C.R.S.A. § 8-6-120 | After 40 hours per week | Yes (phasing in starting Nov. 2022) |
| Connecticut | Conn. Gen. Stat § 31-76c | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Delaware | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Florida | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Georgia | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Hawaii | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 387-3 | After 40 hours per week | Yes, 48 hours per week |
| Idaho | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Illinois | 820 ILCS § 105/4a | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Indiana | Ind. Code § 22-2-2-4 | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Iowa | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Kansas | K.S.A. § 44-1204 | After 46 hours per week | No |
| Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 337.285(1) | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Louisiana | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Maine | 26 M.R.S. § 664(3) | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Maryland | Md. Code Ann., Lab. & Empl. § 3-415 | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151, § 1A | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Michigan | Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 408.934a(4)(e) | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Minnesota | Minn. Stat. § 177.25 | After 48 hours per week | Yes* |
| Mississippi | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Missouri | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 290.505 | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Montana | Mont. Code Ann. § 39-3-405 | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Nebraska | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Nevada | Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 608.018 | After 40 hours per week | No |
| New Hampshire | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 279:21 | After 40 hours per week | No |
| New Jersey | N.J. Stat. Ann § 34:11-56a4(b) | After 40 hours per week | No |
| New Mexico | N.M. Stat. Ann. § 50-4-22(D) | After 40 hours per week | No |
| New York | N.Y. Labor Law § 163-a | After 40 hours per week | Yes, 60 hours per week |
| North Carolina | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 95-25.4 | After 40 hours per week | No |
| North Dakota | N.D. Cent. Code § 34-06-04.1 | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 4111.03(A) | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Oklahoma | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Oregon | Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 653.261 | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Pennsylvania | 34 Pa. Code § 231.41 | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Rhode Island | 28 R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-4.1 | After 40 hours per week | No |
| South Carolina | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| South Dakota | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Tennessee | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Texas | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Utah | Utah Code Ann. § 34-30-8 | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Vermont | 21 V.S.A. § 384(b) | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Virginia | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
| Washington | Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 49.46.130 | After 40 hours per week | Yes (55 hours in 2022; 48 hours in 2023; 40 hours in 2024) |
| West Virginia | W. Va. Code § 21-5C-3(a) | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Wisconsin | Wis. Admin. Code DWD § 274.03 | After 40 hours per week | No |
| Wyoming | No state overtime law – Subject to Federal overtime law | —– | —– |
*Not all agricultural workers are subject to the overtime requirement.