State issues new overtime rules for farmworkers
DENVER — The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s Division of Labor Standards and Statistics has published new overtime rules for agricultural workers.
The final rules come after hearing from workers, employers and the public including in-person and via written response, a press release said.
LSS Director Scott Moss cited the “constructive participation [and] statewide outreach” for developing the rules.
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New regulations include
- Protections against long workdays of 12 and 15 hours.
- A relaxed 56-hour overtime standard during peak seasons.
- New overtime exemptions for family members working family farms.
- New overtime exemptions for some managers at livestock ranches, feedlots and dairies.
- New “heat safety and service access rules” involving water, shade and extra breaks during heat.
- Phase-in periods of one to three years on certain of the rules to allow time for new hiring and scheduling.
The release said the new rules put Colorado in the top six of U.S. states for agricultural overtime rules. It said the new regulations would increase jobs and safety.
“We adopted many good ideas from farm, ranch and dairy businesses to accommodate their operational needs,” Moss said. “These standards are better for all Coloradans.”