California Farm Bureau says State Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, and state Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Bakersfield, have introduced legislation to create a tax credit for agricultural employers to help cover the cost of paying overtime wages to farmworkers.
Senate Bill 921, co-sponsored by the California Farm Bureau and the California Association of Winegrape Growers, aims to ensure farmworkers have more opportunities to earn overtime pay while also providing relief to struggling agricultural businesses.
“I’m proud to introduce SB 921, a straightforward bill that gives California’s farm employers a payroll tax credit to help cover the extra cost of overtime pay for our hardworking farmworkers,” Grove said. “This means more overtime hours and better take-home pay for the folks who put food on America’s tables.
This is a win-win solution for both the business and our farmworkers who want to work more hours during their peak season.
A huge thank-you to my friends at the California Farm Bureau and the California Association of Winegrape Growers for partnering with me on this common-sense solution.”
Hurtado added, “Behind every meal is a story of love, sacrifice and hard work in the fields.
SB 921 honors the sweat and sacrifice behind our food with a modern, fair approach to wages — because in agriculture, farms, workers and families rise or fall together.”
The bill addresses concerns farmworkers themselves raised with lawmakers in Sacramento last year in support of SB 628, a similar agricultural overtime tax credit that Grove introduced.