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Subcommittee backs bill to remove farm-worker and temporary foreign-worker exemptions from minimum wage
Summary
The subcommittee reported HB20 as amended (5–1) after the sponsor proposed delaying enforcement of two exemption removals until 2027; advocates framed the change as correcting a legacy exclusion while the Farm Bureau remained opposed.
The subcommittee reported HB20 with an amendment that delays enactment of the statute changes until Jan. 1, 2027. Delegate McClure explained the amendment and urged the committee to report the bill.
Delegate McClure said HB20 removes the farm-worker and temporary foreign-worker exemptions from the Virginia Minimum Wage Act and noted the proposal had been discussed over several sessions. She said the bill targets outliers who pay very low wages and claimed employers paying inhumane wages gain an unfair advantage over farmers who pay fairly.
Supporters included Jason Erasch of the Legal Aid Justice Center and advocacy groups who said the bill protects farm workers. "We support this bill," Erasch said, emphasizing work with farm workers across the state. Ashley Kenneth of the Commonwealth Institute argued the exclusion is "a direct legacy of Jim Crow" and urged committee members to support the change. The Virginia Farm Bureau, represented by Rachel Henley, said it remained respectfully opposed despite appreciating stakeholder engagement and delayed enactment.
The committee moved to report HB20 with the amendment and the clerk announced the bill reported as amended by a 5–1 vote. The amendment delays the effective date of the exemption removals until January 1, 2027.
The reported bill will proceed to the next stage with the delayed enactment amendment in place.
