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Representative David Durberry presents bill to end farm‑worker minimum‑wage exemption; committee presses housing and overtime questions
Summary
At a March 11 House Committee on General and Housing meeting, Rep. David Durberry outlined Agriculture Committee bill H43 to remove the state minimum‑wage exemption for agricultural workers; members supported the principle but raised questions about housing‑deduction calculations, inspection standards and the bill’s potential impact on small farms.
Representative David Durberry, chair of the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee, told the House Committee on General and Housing on March 11 that Agriculture Committee bill H43 would remove the state exemption that currently excludes agricultural workers from Vermont’s minimum‑wage protections and would add provisions on overtime and a health‑conditions survey for farmworkers.
"There's a moral issue here," Durberry said, arguing that the state should not explicitly exclude the people who grow the food "from protections" and that the study group charged with reviewing the issue recommended focusing first on employment laws such as the state minimum wage rather than unionization. He told members the agriculture committee plans to consider an amendment that would narrow the bill to the minimum‑wage…
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