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By Don Jenkins, Capital Press

More than half of the Washington farmworkers polled in an informal survey said the state’s agricultural overtime law has affected their pay, with most saying they are earning less than before.

More than 600 farmworkers answered the survey conducted by Washington State University and paid for by the Center for Latino Leadership, a pro-business group opposed to the overtime law.

Washington farmworkers became eligible for time-and-a-half after 40 hours in a week in 2024. Some 51.6% of the respondents said they had been impacted by the law.

Of those, 6.6% reported earning more money, while 67.8% said they were earning less. Some workers reported a change in hours worked, but no change in pay.

The survey suggests overtime has not benefited most farmworkers, the center’s executive director, Maia Espinoza, said. “The bottom-line on this one is, it’s not working as hoped,” she said.

Farm groups have proposed raising the threshold to 55 hours for harvest times, but the proposal has not made any headway in the Legislature. “I personally have felt very defeated by this subject,” Espinoza said. “I really hope this gives legislators a reason to do something.”

WSU’s Social and Economic Sciences Research Center circulated the survey between October 2025 and January 2026 through various channels and received 643 responses.

Because the survey was not based on random sampling, the results are not necessarily representative of all Washington farmworkers, according to a survey summary.

“I think it’s reasonable for people to be skeptical,” Espinoza said. “We tried our best for it to be a representative sample, but we acknowledge the pitfalls in any survey work.”

The survey was conducted after most seasonal foreign farmworkers had left the state. The center wanted the survey to focus on domestic workers, Espinoza said.

The survey also excluded year-round dairy workers, she said. The overwhelming majority, 96%, reported working for tree-fruit farms, and 71.4% said they wanted to work more hours.

The survey invited farmworkers to comment. Some said 40 hours had become a cap. “No one wants to pay overtime, so only 40 hours are worked,” one farmworker reportedly commented.

“Overtime is good. The problem is that employers reduce hours,” another commented.

Farmers are hiring more workers or forgoing some work, Worker and Farmer Labor Association CEO Enrique Gastelum said. “The upkeep of the farm starts to suffer,” he said.

“I call it the law of unintended consequences,” Gastelum said. “I hope they (legislators) see it as — we need a fix.”

Colorado this year became the first state to backtrack on overtime pay for farmworkers. Lawmakers raised the overtime threshold to 56 hours from 48 hours in a week. Lawmakers cited falling incomes for farmworkers.

Washington’s 40-hour threshold is taking work away from domestic farmworkers and increasing the need for foreign guest workers, Save Family Farming executive director Ben Tindall said.

“We’re grateful for this important work and research to bring farmworkers’ experiences directly into this discussion,” he said.