by Guy Page
A legislative study committee voted 5-3 today to require farmers to pay workers the state minimum wage.
All three No votes were Republicans: Sen. Randy Brock, Sen. Brian Collamore, and Rep. Ashley Bartley.
If the legislative Agricultural Worker Labor and Employment Law Study Committee recommendation is enacted into law, the minimum wage requirement would apply to all farm workers who are legally allowed to work in the U.S.. It is unclear whether the law also would apply to illegal immigrants, AKA ‘undocumented workers.’ The committee has not decided that point yet, a committee member said today.
The current minimum wage is $13.67/hour. Under current law, farmers would be allowed to deduct rent and utilities from pay for workers living on the farm – a provision hotly disputed by Yes vote Rep. Heather Surprenant (D-Barnard).
Current state law exempts farmers from paying the state minimum wage. They are required to pay at least the federal $7.25/hour wage, a Dec. 2 report to the committee states.
According to the 2022 U.S. Census, 852 migrant workers were employed on Vermont farms, with 10 farms using exclusively migrant labor and 187 farms using a mixture of migrant and non-migrant labor. The migrant worker (including illegal immigrants) advocacy organization Migrant Justice claims ‘undocumented’ dairy workers earn $11.67, about $2 less than Vermont’s minimum wage.
It is unclear how many of those 852 migrant workers are in the U.S. illegally. To muddy the waters further, some workers here illegally consider themselves Vermont residents and therefore are not counted as ‘migrant workers.’
In voting no, Collamore said raising the MW won’t discernibly help workers because of the permitted deduction of living expenses.
Brock said he is reluctant to vote because he questions underlying data in the report. During the committee meeting, the senator from farm-heavy Franklin County expressed skepticism about the reported, vs. actual number of migrant farm workers.
Voting yes were Sen. Irene Wrenner (Chittenden), Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D-Chittenden), Rep. David Durfee (D-Shaftsbury), Surprenant, and Rep. Robin Chesnut-Tangerman (D-Middletown Springs). The latter also said he opposes the living expense reduction.
The committee will discuss paying farm workers overtime and collective bargaining rights this afternoon.