Assembly Bill 2646 Raises Minimum Wage for Ag Workers to $19.75/hr.

The bill, now enacted into law, requires the minimum hourly wage for an approved agricultural employee and corresponding employee, as defined, to be $19.75 per hour. Commencing January 1, 2027, and each January thereafter, the bill requires the above-described minimum hourly wage to be adjusted by an amount equal to the cost-of-living adjustment for social security benefits, as specified.

By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill imposes a state-mandated local program. By increasing the revenue to the Industrial Relations Unpaid Wage Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, and expanding the purposes for which moneys in that fund may be used, the bill makes an appropriation.

California produces over 400 commodities including nearly half of the nation’s vegetables and over three-quarters of the nation’s fruits and nuts.^[2] California is home to an estimated 400,000 farm workers that are the backbone to this country’s agricultural system. Although California (and the rest of the nation) relies on the important work of farm workers, they tend to earn some of the lowest wages in the labor market. According to the author, “farm workers in California have historically earned wages that place many near or below the poverty line. This is due to the fact that farm work is often seasonal which makes actual earnings frequently lower.

Lower earnings and reduced income make farm workers more vulnerable to the adverse effects of even minor economic fluctuations.” According to the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) published by the Department of Labor, which looked at the demographics and employment profile of California’s farmworkers from 2015 to 2019, California farmworkers’ mean and median personal income in the previous year was in the range of $20,000 to $24,999. 9% of workers said their total personal income was less than $10,000, 24% said they had personal incomes of $10,000 to $19,999, 37% had personal incomes of $20,000 to $29,999, and 21% reported that their total personal income was $30,000 or more. 5% of workers reported that they did not work at all during the prior calendar year.