By Miriam Raftery

Photo: U.S. Department of Labor

June 4, 2016 (San Diego)— By a slim two-vote margin, a measure that would have given farm workers the same overtime pay as workers in other industries failed to win passage in the state Assembly  after emotional testimony on both sides.

In non-agricultural businesses, workers are entitled to overtime pay if they work more than eight hours a day or over 40 hours a week.  Although federal law does not mandate any overtime pay for farm laborers, California does require overtime pay for those working more than 10 hours a day or over 60 hours a week.  Assembly Bill 2757 would have required that farm workers who labor more than 8 hours a day would receive time and a half, while those working over 12 hours a day would receive double pay by 2020.