Amended Ag Labor Bill Moves To Washington House

Legislation that supporters say address Ag labor problems in Washington has cleared the Senate and now moves to the House.  Senate Bill 6261, passed by a 32-16 partisan vote in Olympia.  Supporters claim the legislation would close “loopholes” exempting nonprofit contractors from the Farm Labor Contractor Act.

But many in the farming community said the legislation was nothing more than an attempt to add regulations and wage pressures on producers.  Before the bill cleared the Senate, it was modified, no longer creating liability for farm employers, meaning non-profit organizations will simply need to procure a state farm labor contractor license from Labor & Industries.

Central Washington state Senator Brad Hawkins voted against SB 6261.  He said he’s concerned anytime legislation impacting Washington’s Ag community is sponsored by one party only.

“We really need to make sure that issues that affect our tree fruit and others are bipartisan.  And there’s no reason that some of these things should be a one party proposition.”

Hawkins said he’s hopeful the bill will not advance in House, or will continue to be altered to be friendlier to the Ag industry.  Senate Bill 6261 in it’s original form also would have presumed farm employers were guilty of retaliation if an employee complained in any form regarding the workplace environment.

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