This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at cpr.org.
What began as a showdown between two competing agricultural overtime pay bills at the Colorado Capitol may end with a simple tweak to current law after an amended bipartisan bill narrowly passed in the state Senate on Wednesday.
A 2021 law fundamentally changed how Colorado farmworkers get paid by allowing overtime pay. Prior to that, agricultural work was exempt from state and federal overtime wage laws. Under the current law, which only took full effect in 2025, overtime kicks in after either 56 or 48 hours a week depending on the type of farmwork.
But lawmakers at the capitol now disagree on whether that threshold should be lower or higher. Democratic Senator Jessie Danielson sponsored the original 2021 bill and a bill this session to lower the overtime threshold to 40 -hours a week, which is standard in most industries. She said agricultural workers’ labor is no less valuable than workers in any other industry and their wages should reflect that.
“[(Agricultural employers]) have been exempt from having to pay overtime for a very long time,” Danielson said. “Of course they don’t like having to do it now. I understand that. I disagree with it.”
The Senate Business, Labor and Technology committee defeated that proposal last week. Opponents say the highly seasonal and unpredictable nature of agricultural work makes it fundamentally different from other sectors and justifies separate treatment under labor law. Farmwork, after all, can be very long and intense during a short harvest window and then dry up entirely during the off-season.
“Agricultural employers simply cannot afford to pay overtime at 40 hours,” said Democratic Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez. “The agricultural industry is commodity driven and cannot pass on production costs to their customers.”
Rodriguez had his own bipartisan bill, seeking to bump up the overtime threshold to 60 hours a week. Ultimately it was amended to 56 hours a week, which Rodriguez described as a small concession to opponents who preferred a lower threshold.
“Fifty-six hours is a reasonable overtime threshold that will mean ag workers will take home more pay than they are today,” Rodriguez said in an email. “My goal has been to provide meaningful overtime protections for ag workers and work towards a policy that ensures workers will take home as much money as they can.”
Farm managers, farm family members and specifically, sheepherders and other range workers who essentially camp out in the mountains with their flocks and herds throughout the grazing season, would remain exempt from overtime laws.
Supporters of the 56-hour a week threshold say anything lower ultimately hurts the workers it was intended to protect, because farmers would either switch to less labor-intensive crops or hire multiple crews to work shorter shifts.
“The current overtime regulations have resulted in workers losing hours and therefore losing money,” Rodriguez said.
The goal, according to Republican Minority Leader Cleave, who co-sponsored the proposal, was to craft a policy that would benefit agricultural employers and workers alike.
“It's about trying to find a medium where you have respected, valued workers and profitable producers so we can continue to be a viable industry in this state,” Simpson said.
Before the bill narrowly passed in the state Senate, opponents tried to amend it to lower overtime thresholds, remove the exemption for range workers, increase overtime wages and add other worker protections. Those attempts were all shot down.
Danielson, who grew up on her family’s farm in Weld County, said she was dismayed by the outcome.
“I believe that this is the wrong direction to take our law,” she said. “I believe that this makes this vulnerable workforce more vulnerable.”
