Amendment #546 to H4789

Farmworkers Minimum Wage

Mr. González of Springfield moves to amend the bill by adding the following 2 sections:

“SECTION XXXX. Section 2A of chapter 151 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out, in the second sentence the word “$8.00” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- "the minimum wage set forth in section 1 of this chapter.”

SECTION XXXX. Section 2 of said chapter 151 is hereby further amended by striking out, in the definition of “Agricultural and farm work,” after the words “labor on a farm,” the words “and the growing and harvesting of agricultural, floricultural and horticultural commodities” and inserting the following words: -

wherein an agricultural employee is employed by a farmer and that same employee is engaged in solely primary agriculture, solely secondary agriculture, or both primary and secondary agriculture. Primary agriculture shall include farming in all its branches, including the cultivation and tillage of the soil, the production, cultivation, growing, and harvesting of agricultural, aquacultural, floricultural and horticultural commodities, dairying, the growing and harvesting of forest products upon forest land, the raising and keeping of livestock, bees, fur-bearing animals, and raising and keeping of poultry, swine, cattle and other domesticated animals used for food purposes. Secondary agriculture shall include preparing commodities for market – including cleaning, sorting, peeling, washing, packing, and delivering commodities to storage, to market, or to a carrier for transporting to market. A farm employee who never engages in either primary or secondary agriculture is not performing “agricultural and farm work” even when they engage in practices incident to or in conjunction with farming operations on a farm and shall not be considered an agricultural employee.".

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #546 to H4789

Farmworkers Minimum Wage