The California State Senate has approved a bill that would give farm workers the same overtime benefits as workers in other industries. Current law calls for overtime pay when workers work more than 10 hours a day or 60 hours a week, figures that would drop to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. Supporters of the bill say that it gives farm workers the same protections that other workers have enjoyed, but opponents say that it could mean farmers will hire fewer workers instead of paying overtime. The bill needs to be approved by the Governor to go into effect.
See "Bill extends overtime pay protections to California farmworkers", Patrick McGreevy and Michael J. Mishak, Los Angeles Times, August 20, 2012