H.R. 10273: Fairness for Farm Workers Act

This bill would change federal wage and hour rules for agricultural workers, mainly by giving them overtime rights that farm workers generally do not have under current law.

What it would do

• Require overtime pay for farm workers after a set number of hours. Starting January 1, 2027, agricultural workers would have to be paid at least time-and-a-half for hours worked beyond a weekly threshold. That threshold would gradually shrink over time:

  • 55 hours per week beginning in 2027

  • 50 hours per week beginning in 2028

  • 45 hours per week beginning in 2029

  • 40 hours per week beginning in 2030

• Give smaller employers more time. For agricultural employers with 25 or fewer employees, the overtime requirement would not start until 2030, and the weekly hour thresholds would shift back by several years, reaching the 40-hour threshold in 2033.

• Remove several existing exemptions from federal wage and hour law for agricultural work. The bill would repeal or narrow provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act that currently exclude certain agricultural workers from protections.

• Change some special rules for smaller farms and related agricultural labor laws. It would update references in federal law tied to the size of a farm operation, including how the law treats employers that use no more than 500 man-days of agricultural labor in a quarter.

Timing

• Some parts would take effect sooner for larger employers and later for smaller employers.

• One of the repeal provisions would apply to larger employers starting in 2027, while for employers with 25 or fewer employees it would begin in 2030.

• Other changes would generally take effect in 2030 for larger employers and 2033 for smaller employers, depending on the section.

Practical effect

In plain terms, the bill would bring farm workers more in line with other workers under federal overtime law. For farms and agricultural businesses, this could mean higher labor costs, especially for operations that rely on long workweeks. For workers, it would mean overtime pay after fewer hours as the phase-in progresses.

Relevant Companies

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