Senate panel hears farmworker report; committee urges focus on minimum wage and overtime

The Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee on Jan. 22 heard a report from the Agricultural Worker Labor and Employment Law Study Committee that recommends Vermont lawmakers concentrate first on employment-law changes — notably removing exclusions for minimum wage and adding overtime protections — rather than immediately establishing a collective-bargaining system for agricultural workers.

"The minimum wage in Vermont does not currently apply to, farm workers," David Derby, chair of the Agricultural Worker Labor and Employment Law Study Committee, told the Senate panel, summarizing the committee's work. The committee, an eight-member, mixed House–Senate group that met six times from August through the fall, examined statutes in other states, federal rules and the state of farm employment in Vermont.

The report notes that agricultural workers were excluded from the National Labor Relations Act in the 1930s and remain excluded from some state labor laws; a year ago the Vermont Legislature passed bill S.102 and asked the study committee to return recommendations on collective bargaining and other employment-law changes. Committee members told senators they found 14 states with laws allowing agricultural collective bargaining but that unionization has been rare in many of those states.

Committee members said other states with larger labor agencies and bigger agricultural sectors have seen relatively few farmworker collective-bargaining certifications. "Even though their law has been in place allowing workers to bargain for quite a while, ... they had never certified, union and farm workers union until recently," Derby said, citing Massachusetts as an example where cannabis cultivation activity prompted recent organizing. New York, by contrast, has seen more active petitions and litigation related to farmworker organizing.

Instead of building a new collective-bargaining framework first, the committee recommended focusing on employment-law gaps that currently exempt farmworkers in Vermont from state minimum wage and overtime protections. Committee members told the Senate panel that addressing wages and hours could achieve many of the sought improvements to farmworker conditions without the administrative and legal costs of standing up a new bargaining system.

The report and testimony also emphasized data limits. Sophie Zadotni, vice state counsel who staffed the study committee, pointed senators to comparative tables and USDA Census data compiled in the report and noted scale differences across Vermont farms: "Only of 1 third actually have any agricultural employers employees," she said, referencing USDA definitions and the distribution of farms by size. Committee members said worker surveys and employer testimony gave conflicting figures on how many workers earn below the existing Vermont minimum wage.

The committee discussed housing, deductions from pay and special federal programs. Zadotni cited Department of Labor guidance for allowable board-room deductions: "Full room is $31.64 a week. Full room and board is a $109.24 a week for both the 2025," she told the committee, and noted that H‑2A visa workers are guaranteed a per‑day rate and provided transport and housing under federal rules (Zadotni cited the 2024 H‑2A rate reported to the committee as $17.80 per hour for that program year).

Committee members raised other factors that complicate a quick policy shift: a substantial share of Vermont dairy workers are undocumented, the agricultural sector in Vermont is small and heavily weighted toward dairy operations that run year‑round, and H‑2A seasonal workers are governed by federal visa rules that affect organizing and labor protections. Members also noted potential secondary impacts on farms if hours limits reduce total available work and pay.

While the study committee stopped short of recommending specific statutory text for collective bargaining, members did agree to pursue developing a draft bill addressing minimum wage and overtime applicability for agricultural workers. Derby and committee staff said they will draft proposals for the Senate committee to consider as part of broader wage‑growth legislation this session.

Senators also discussed possible ways to mitigate costs to farmers if overtime requirements are extended to agriculture. The committee heard about New York programs that offer tax credits or other supports tied to overtime compliance, and members recommended exploring whether existing farm supports could be repurposed or whether targeted incentives would be needed.

No formal vote or bill was taken during the Senate committee meeting; senators asked staff to provide the Department of Labor’s updated room‑and‑board deduction schedule and flagged the need for a deeper dive on housing and on better data collection. Committee staff and senators said further hearings would be scheduled to identify stakeholders for more detailed follow-up.

The study committee’s full report, appendices and comparative matrices on collective bargaining, minimum wage, overtime, workers’ compensation and field‑safety issues are posted on the study committee website, and staff said they will circulate the Department of Labor deduction schedule and other technical materials to the Senate committee.

For now, the study committee recommended a phased approach: prioritize employment‑law amendments that would eliminate the current Vermont exemptions for farmworkers on minimum wage and overtime, gather better data, and only then consider whether and how to craft a collective‑bargaining framework if needed.