Democrats push farm worker minimum wage bill for third year
By Sara Matthews/Capital News Service
RICHMOND, Va. — Lawmakers will vote on a House bill to extend minimum wage requirements to farm workers in the state, an effort that has been vetoed twice since 2024.
Del. Adele McClure, D-Arlington, introduced House Bill 20 to extend the minimum wage to the currently exempt farm workers, employees and certain temporary foreign workers.
This marks McClure’s third year carrying the legislation, which advanced on party lines twice before being vetoed by former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Opponents of the measure had a misconception around the impact it would have on farms and farmers, McClure said. She added that tariffs could have a higher cost.
“This bill is supposed to target the bad actors that are paying some of the lowest wages to some of the hardest workers who can’t even afford to put the food that they harvest on their own table,” McClure said. “This would ensure that they could afford to work and support their families and themselves.”
Many farmers pay their workers well above the state minimum wage, according to McClure. Her bill targets large farms that pay their workers less.
“I’ve spoken with a vast amount of farmers, large and small, and a lot of small farmers support this bill because they wouldn’t dream of paying anything below $15 an hour,” McClure said. “They need those workers. They depend on those workers, and they can’t afford not to have that work.”
An employer found in violation of the proposed measure would be subject to a fine ranging between $10 and $200, according to the bill’s impact statement.
Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William, introduced Senate Bill 121, the counterpart bill.
Agriculture is Virginia’s largest private industry, generating more than 381,800 jobs, according to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Farm laborers contribute to 9.3% of Virginia’s gross domestic product. Despite their economic contributions, these workers are not guaranteed the state’s $12.77 minimum wage, which bill supporters say highlights the inconsistency between value and pay.
Farm laborers and employees have been excluded from the Virginia Minimum Wage Act since it was adopted in 1975. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers are required to pay at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
“It’s past time that we stop excluding these hard workers from the protections in our Virginia Minimum Wage Act,” McClure said.
The Legal Aid Justice Center supports HB 20 and other legislation to protect Virginia workers. The organization has previously said the law that prevents farm workers from receiving the minimum wage is a “vestige of Jim Crow-era rulemaking.”
Manuel Gago, co-director of the Workers Justice Program at the Legal Aid Justice Center, spoke in favor of the bill at a Labor and Commerce committee meeting on Jan. 22.
“This bill is simple,” Gago said. “By removing these few outdated lines, we can end unequal treatment in our laws, eliminate Jim Crow era exclusions, and protect workers without raising food prices or harming the small farms.”
Over 20 Democratic lawmakers are listed as co-patrons. Del. Phil Hernandez, D-Norfolk, is a chief co-patron and also introduced legislation to protect farm workers, McClure said. One of these bills is HB 1092, which establishes standards to protect workers from heat illness. Hernandez also introduced a minimum wage for farm laborers bill in 2024.
An Appropriations committee passed HB 20 on Feb. 6 with a vote of 15-7 and an amendment that stalls the enactment date to Jan. 1, 2027.
If the bill passes the House, it will go to the Senate for consideration.