By Natalie Willis, Reporter, Valley Ag Voice
As agricultural employers in California prepare for a new set of regulations set to take effect in January, developments in the leadership of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will inform broader policy discussions in the new year.
AG EMPLOYER REGULATIONS
Two laws impacting California’s agriculture industry will take effect on January 1. The agricultural overtime law, Assembly Bill 1066, initially passed in 2016, will expand to include employers with 25 or fewer employees as part of its latest phased implementation.
Under AB 1066, agricultural workers at large employers — 26 or more employees — began receiving overtime pay of 1.5 times their regular rate after 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. According to a study published by the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics, the bill led to sizeable decreases in weekly working hours and earnings. Now, small farms will need to come into compliance with the bill.
Additionally, according to the Department of Industrial Relations, workers will begin to receive double the employee’s regular rate of pay after 12 hours in any workday. This provision, which has been applied to large employers since January 2022, will take effect for small employers beginning January 2025.
On Sept. 30, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 399 into law, prohibiting employers from engaging employees in discussion of political topics, effective Jan. 1, 2025.
The bill, introduced by Democratic Senator Aisha Wahab, limits employer communication on political matters in the workplace and prohibits employers from requiring employees to attend meetings or engage in communications where political opinions are shared.
Agricultural opponents of the bill, such as the Ag Council, argued that the language of the bill is ambiguous, leaving employers unsure about what constitutes “employer-sponsored” communication. That is, SB 399 could prevent employers from discussing legislative or regulatory updates that may affect the business or their employees’ job security.
SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
In national news, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Brooke Rollins, former White House aide and CEO of America First Policy Institute, as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture on Nov. 23. Rollins would take over for current secretary Tom Vilsack who was appointed to the position by President Joe Biden and previously by President Barack Obama.
During President Trump’s first term, Rollins served as acting director of the U.S. Domestic Policy Council. According to AP News, the Texas native graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in agricultural development.
“From her upbringing in the small and Agriculture-centered town of Glen Rose, Texas, to her years of leadership involvement with Future Farmers of America and 4H, to her generational Family Farming background, to guiding her four kids in their show cattle careers, Brooke has a practitioner’s experience, along with deep Policy credentials in both Nonprofit and Government leadership at the State and National levels,” Trump said in a statement.
The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate when President Trump takes office on Jan. 20, 2025.
