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In November 2020 the Washington Supreme Court made a momentous decision. They overturned longstanding state law that saw farm work as different from most other work with a need for flexibility in the hours workers could work. "Make hay when the sunshines" still is important for farming. The five out of nine judges who took this action apparently do not understand that farmers cannot raise prices to pass the increased labor costs on. To stay in business, farmers have had to make adjustments.
As this video will show, employees the judges thought they were helping, are deeply unhappy with this decision. |
One very disturbing result of the state Supreme Court decision is the flood of litigation launched against Washington's family dairy farmers claiming that now these farmers owe three years back pay to their employees. This, despite the fact that farmers have been following the law on employee pay for years, and that if successful, these actions will mean the end of almost all but the very largest farms in Washington state.
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Eager lawyers jumped on the opening left by the Supreme Court decision and have filed suits against over 20 farms. They claim that farmers now owe workers three years back pay. When farmers have been faithfully following a longstanding state law in paying workers, how can it be fair they are now penalized for following the law? If these lawsuits succeed through court action or settlements, we will see a rapid loss of most of our family farms with only the largest, most efficient farms able to survive.
Please read the detailed explanation, download it and pass it on.
Please read the detailed explanation, download it and pass it on.
| sff_fpp_overtime_paper.pages |
Please help us get the word out. Download, email, print and mail this message which will be placed soon in newspapers across the state.
| sff_ot_print_ad_011521.pdf |
