A state commission will soon decide whether to change wage and working conditions facing an estimated 250 to 300 sheepherders living in California, including Kern County. The Industrial Welfare Commission is reviewing proposed amendments to existing rules. The commission could make a decision this month.
Sheepherders mostly live in trailers and tend to flocks grazing on range or pasture.
With a dog by his side, a herder's duties include feeding, shearing and assisting in the lambing season. Pay and working conditions are under review. Sheepherders are exempt from the minimum wage rule since they fall under a federal guest-worker program. The housing would include heating, toilets, bathing facilities and visitor access. But the largest dispute has to do with possible pay increases.