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Supervisor Turnboo recommending the Board adopt and authorize the Chair to sign Resolution 057-2021 urging California Governor Newsom to use his administrative authority to adopt the federal weekly hours work standard for sheep and goat herders in California.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
California Assembly Bill 1066, Phase-In Overtime for Agricultural Workers Act, which was passed by the Legislature in 2016, created a timetable for agricultural workers to receive overtime pay so that they will gradually receive overtime pay on the same basis as workers in most other industries.
The bill was significantly broad in its application, so much so that it did not consider the unique administrative structure currently used by California to compute monthly compensation for sheep and goat herders. The California state labor agency uses 168 hours (24/7) as the work week. The work of range herders is uniquely nomadic and actual hours worked are not easily tracked. Congress has recognized this aspect and exempted range herders from both the overtime and minimum wage requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Department of Labor further acknowledged this exemption in a 2015 rulemaking process and set the estimated hours worked per week at 48 hours, even though range herders are available on a continuous basis.
Prior to the adoption of AB 1066, California herders were already the highest paid in the nation. The impact of this state law will result in compensation exceeding neighboring sheep/goat producing states by an estimated 40-80%. California currently ranks first in wool production and second in sheep inventory with roughly 550,000 head. The bill has resulted in an average increase of 6.5% to the general agricultural sector. In contrast, as a result of the wage order, this small industry has seen an increase of 52%. There are over 3,500 family operations raising sheep/goats in California who employ about 375 herders. Moreover, co...
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