Agricultural employers must review and update their overtime policies yet again to comply with the Ag Overtime law (Assembly Bill 1066). The timetable created by Assembly Bill 1066 in 2016 gradually changes overtime rules in order to align California Wage Order 14 overtime to be paid on the same basis as most other industries. The [...]
On December 11, 2019, the House of Representatives voted to approve the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (HR 5038), 260-165. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of California authored the bill, and it was co-sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans. The legislation has three components. The first title creates the Certified Agricultural Worker program. This new program will allow [...]
California Citrus Mutual is conducting a survey to determine the extent that H-2A labor is utilized by the California citrus industry. The survey results will provide valuable insight to the CCM membership about labor trends within the industry and labor availability as the season progresses. Additionally, the data provided will be aggregated and shared with [...]
The following changes to overtime compensation and minimum wage rates are applicable to employers with 26 or more employees (“Large Employers”) effective January 1, 2020 The minimum wage rate is increased to $13 per hour. Employees must be compensated at overtime rates after 9 hours of work daily or 50 hours in a workweek. Employees [...]
Today, November 21, 2019, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (H.R. 5038) was passed by the House Judiciary Committee 18-12. This bill would provide many provisions for securing a stable and legal workforce for agriculture in the United States. H.R. 5038 now awaits consideration on the floor of the House of Representatives. California Citrus Mutual signed [...]
Media Contact: Alexis Silveira Communications Manager Alexis@CACitrusMutual.com Phone: (559) 592-3790 California Citrus Mutual Supports the Farm Workforce Modernization Act October 30, 2019, Exeter, Calif. It is with great excitement that California Citrus Mutual announces our support for the "Farm Workforce Modernization Act" introduced today by Congresswomen Zoe Lofgren, chair of the Judiciary Committee. "We applaud [...]
Updated requirements for reporting injuries to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) have been announced. Employers will need to be ready to comply by January 1, 2020. Starting on January 1st employers will be able to use an online reporting portal. Emails will no longer be an acceptable form of reporting incidents [...]
The Cal/OSHA Standards Board has approved the emergency protection of workers exposed to wildfire smoke regulation, effective July 29, 2019. This standard applies to workplaces where the current Air Quality Index (AQI) of particulate matter reaches 151 or greater and where employers should reasonably anticipate that employees could be exposed to wildfire smoke. For non-exempted employers [...]
The following advisement is provided by the Saqui Law Group. While we do not anticipate ICE raids will occur at packinghouses at this time, it is prudent that employers understand what to do should ICE conduct a raid or audit at your operation. As part of our partnership with the Saqui Law Group, CCM members [...]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that includes a number of changes to the existing H-2A program. The National Council of Agricultural Employers and the Agricultural Coalition for Immigration Reform has prepared this side-by-side analysis of the changes. The changes are expected to take effect in early 2020. [...]