I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4579 
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide increased labor 
law protections for agricultural workers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 12, 2023 
Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BOWMAN, 
Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARSON, Mr. 
CASAR, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. CHU, Mr. 
COHEN, Mr. CORREA, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. GARCI´A of 
Illinois, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mrs. 
HAYES, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. 
KHANNA, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. LEE of Penn-
sylvania, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MENENDEZ, 
Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 
OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. 
PORTER, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. RUIZ, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 
SMITH of Washington, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. TITUS, Ms. 
TLAIB, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. 
WILSON of Florida, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SHERMAN, 
Mr. PALLONE, Mr. FROST, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. GALLEGO, and Ms. 
KAMLAGER-DOVE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide 
increased labor law protections for agricultural workers, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fairness for Farm 
Workers Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REDRESSING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST AGRICUL-
TURAL WORKERS UNDER THE FAIR LABOR 
STANDARDS ACT OF 1938. 
(a) ENDING DISCRIMINATION WITH RESPECT
TO 
OVERTIME HOURS REQUIREMENTS.—Section 7 of the 
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph 
(C), beginning on January 1, 2024, no employer 
shall employ any employee employed in agriculture 
(who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in 
the production of goods for commerce, or is em-
ployed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in 
the production of goods for commerce) for a work-
week that is longer than the hours specified under 
subparagraph (B), unless such employee receives 
compensation for employment in excess of the hours 
specified in such subparagraph at a rate not less 
than one and one-half times the regular rate at 
which the employee is employed. 
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‘‘(B) The hours specified in this subparagraph 
are, subject to subparagraph (C), as follows: 
‘‘(i) Beginning on January 1, 2024, fifty- 
five hours in any workweek. 
‘‘(ii) Beginning on January 1, 2025, fifty 
hours in any workweek. 
‘‘(iii) Beginning on January 1, 2026, forty- 
five hours in any workweek. 
‘‘(iv) Beginning on January 1, 2027, forty 
hours in any workweek. 
‘‘(C) With respect to any employer that employs 
25 or fewer employees— 
‘‘(i) the requirement under subparagraph 
(A) shall begin on January 1, 2027; and 
‘‘(ii) the hours specified under subpara-
graph (B) shall apply as follows: 
‘‘(I) The number of hours specified 
under subparagraph (B)(i) shall begin on 
January 1, 2027. 
‘‘(II) The number of hours specified 
under subparagraph (B)(ii) shall begin on 
January 1, 2028. 
‘‘(III) The number of hours specified 
under subparagraph (B)(iii) shall begin on 
January 1, 2029. 
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‘‘(IV) The number of hours specified 
under subparagraph (B)(iv) shall begin on 
January 1, 2030.’’; and 
(2) by repealing subsection (m). 
(b) REMOVING CERTAIN EXEMPTIONS FOR AGRICUL-
TURAL WORK.—Section 13 of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(6), by striking ‘‘(A)’’ and 
all that follows through the semicolon and inserting 
‘‘if such employee is the parent, spouse, child, or 
other member of the employer’s immediate family;’’; 
(2) in subsection (b), by repealing paragraphs 
(12) through (16); and 
(3) by striking subsections (h) through (j). 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATES.—The amendments made 
by— 
(1) subsections (a)(2), (b)(1), (b)(3), and (d) 
shall take effect— 
(A) with respect to an employer that em-
ploys more than 25 employees, on January 1, 
2027; and 
(B) with respect to an employer that em-
ploys 25 or fewer employees, on January 1, 
2030; and 
(2) subsection (b)(2) shall take effect— 
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(A) with respect to an employer that em-
ploys more than 25 employees, on January 1, 
2024; and 
(B) with respect to an employer that em-
ploys 25 or fewer employees, on January 1, 
2027. 
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938.— 
Section 13(c)(1)(A) of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(c)(1)(A)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘none of the employees’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘section 6(a)(5)’’ and inserting ‘‘all of the 
employees of which are employed in agriculture and 
are employed by an employer who did not, during 
any calendar quarter during the preceding calendar 
year, use more than 500 man-days of agricultural 
labor (within the meaning of the exemption under 
subsection (a)(6)(A), as in effect on the day before 
the date of enactment of the Fairness for Farm 
Workers Act)’’. 
(2) MIGRANT
AND
SEASONAL
AGRICULTURAL 
WORKER PROTECTION ACT.—Section 4(a)(2) of the 
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protec-
tion Act (29 U.S.C. 1803(a)(2)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘for whom the man-days exemption’’ and all 
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that follows through the period and inserting ‘‘who 
did not, during any calendar quarter during the pre-
ceding calendar year, use more than 500 man-days 
of agricultural labor (within the meaning of the ex-
emption under section 13(a)(6)(A) of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(6)(A)), as 
in effect on the day before the date of enactment of 
the Fairness for Farm Workers Act).’’. 
Æ 
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