Wednesday, March 16, 2022
A4
OPINION
VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN
A possible
silver
lining on a
bad bill?
W
hile we are not by any means
proponents of HB 4002, the
bill passed in early March
that will end the agriculture overtime
exemption, maybe there is a silver lining
to this bill that can help farm owners and
farmworkers.
Now, hear us out before you burn this
editorial.
Here is the simple answer: More jobs.
The gist of the bill is that, by 2027,
farmworkers are to start being paid over-
time for any amount worked over 40
hours a week — something that is a com-
monality in the farming industry, espe-
cially during harvest time.
Here’s some quick math to show the
pinch this puts on farm owners. The rural
Oregon minimum wage jumps to $12.50
per hour starting in July (who knows what
it will be in five years). A 40-hour work
week, then, would be a gross of $500.
Double that — 80 hours (which may be a
underestimation during harvest) is $1,000.
If overtime is to be paid on that, it raises
the gross pay to $1,250.
While that may not seem like a lot at
first glance, an extra $250 a week spread
over your staff quickly adds up. Even
with a staff of just four, that’s an extra
$1,000 per week, or $4,000 per month.
That will get pricy quickly for farm
owners, who are going to have to find a
way to adapt — something they already
are having to do in the midst of inflation,
supply chain issues and drought.
Which brings it back to the above
answer: More jobs.
Perhaps a (not necessarily the) solu-
tion to consider for these farms is to hire
more people, especially during the peak
of harvest.
In the scenario above, 40 hours could
end up being worked in just three days
(80 hours in six). If that is split, and more
people are brought into do the work —
say, on a three days on, three days off
rotation, (or three on, four off) — then the
amount of work could still be done. Pre-
viously, the above four employees work-
ing 80 hours are making $1,250 per week
apiece, or a combined $5,000 per week.
Double the staff, but at just 40 hours,
and the cost (without the overtime) drops
to $4,000 per week.
Obviously, there are tradeoffs to this.
Yes, more people could be able to work,
but, those who had previously logged
those extra hours at harvest would be
hurting with less cashflow than they pre-
viously had.
There is not a perfect solution to an
imperfect — check that — bad bill, and
there will be consequences that the Legis-
lature (we hope) did not intend.
And, invariably, it will fall on the backs
of one of the most taken-for-granted
groups in our nation — the farmers — to
come up with a solution.
We are confident they will do so, and
that they likely have a solution better than
this.
But this could be a way out that could
help other workers at the same time.
Maybe, indeed, a silver lining.
Now, are there workers out there to fill
in that gap?
Ag overtime bill is a win, not a victory
OTHER
VIEWS
Bill Hansell
efore even the first gavel dropped
on the 2022 legislative session,
I knew that one of the most con-
sequential bills of my legislative career
would be considered.
HB 4002, or the agriculture overtime
bill, was a divisive bill from the start and
presented the Oregon Legislature with
two options. One that would favor one
side to the detriment of the rest of Ore-
gon, especially the agricultural econ-
omy. This is what I called a win — a win
for a select few at the cost of the rest of
us. The other path included compromise,
good-faith negotiation and a bill that
would generate support from both par-
ties. This is what I called a victory — a
victory for all of Oregon.
I worked hard to get a victory, not just
a win on agriculture overtime. But the
final result was a win — a win for Wil-
lamette Valley liberal special interests
who donate money to the majority Dem-
B
ocrats’ campaign funds.
It will make these groups feel good
about themselves, but it won’t make
Oregonians better off. HB 4002 will
result in higher prices at the grocery
store for working families, hours and
pay capped for agricultural workers and
ultimately the shuttering of small family
farms that fill my district.
Agriculture is a unique industry.
During harvest seasons, it requires long
hours to reap all the crops before frost
or rains come. In ranching, there is even
more nuance.
The bottom line is that farmers and
ranchers don’t set their own prices, they
have to take whatever price the markets
are offering. The Democrats advanced an
argument about ag overtime that essen-
tially stated that a bushel of wheat har-
vested in the 41st hour is worth 50%
more than one harvested at the fifth hour.
Anyone who has grown up around farms
knows that that is not true. And requir-
ing farmers to pay their workers as such
will soon result in a dwindling number
of family farms to even employ these
workers.
HB 4002 leveled all these unique dis-
tinctions in agriculture and mandated a
one-size-fits-all “solution” that is really
no solution at all. The “olive-branches”
that Democrats extended, the agricul-
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Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-423
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
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VOLUME 134
tural community never asked for. One
example: Under this new overtime pay
mandate, family farms will now be able
to apply for tax credits to ease the bur-
den of the new overtime pay man-
date. Now taxpayers will be subsidizing
this new program. Farmers and ranch-
ers never asked for that, but the major-
ity decided that is what would be best
for them.
I worked hard to come to a compro-
mise. Simple adjustments for season-
ality, flexible scheduling and recogniz-
ing the difference between the kinds of
agriculture would have helped. But the
majority party rejected all these and
charged ahead with what seemed to be a
predetermined outcome, driven by their
special-interest groups.
I know how much Oregon’s farmers
and ranchers care about their employ-
ees and their families. HB 4002 will
now force those farmers and ranchers to
make difficult decisions about how much
they can afford their employees to work.
I grew up on these kinds of farms and I
am afraid that under this policy, fewer
and fewer of those farms will be around
in the future.
———
Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, is in his
10th year representing the seven counties
that make up Senate District 29.
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