California legislation seeks to raise farmworker minimum wage to $19.75

California Governor Gavin Newsom faces a decision regarding legislation that would raise the mandatory minimum wage for many farmworkers to $19.75 per hour starting next year. The bill, authored by Assemblywoman Maggy Krell, has already passed the state Legislature.

The legislation aims to counteract a U.S. Department of Labor decision from last fall that significantly reduced pay for H-2A farmworkers, who are immigrants on temporary or seasonal work visas. In California, data from the United Farm Workers Foundation indicates the federal policy shift lowered average hourly wages from approximately $19.97 to $16.90.

While a federal district judge in Fresno recently ruled the Department of Labor policy illegal, no new wage calculations have been implemented due to the lack of a specific timetable for action. Proponents of the California bill argue it is necessary to restore wage levels for the approximately 35,000 H-2A workers in the state.