H.R. 10273 – Fairness for Farm Workers Act

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Updated September 4, 2026 at 9:20 AM UTC

The Fairness for Farm Workers Act would change the Fair Labor Standards Act to give agricultural employees the same overtime protections as other workers. It sets a schedule that limits the workweek to 55, 50, 45, and then 40 hours, with overtime pay at one‑and‑a‑half times the regular rate. The rules apply earlier to larger farms and later to farms with 25 or fewer employees, and it removes several long‑standing exemptions that kept farm workers out of overtime coverage.

Key Provisions

Adds overtime limits for farm workers: 55‑hour weeks starting Jan 1 2027, 50‑hour weeks in 2028, 45‑hour weeks in 2029, and 40‑hour weeks in 2030 for employers with more than 25 employees; the same limits begin later (starting 2030) for employers with 25 or fewer employees.
Requires employers to pay overtime at 1.5 × the regular rate for any hours worked beyond the specified weekly limits, except where a specific exemption applies.
Eliminates certain family‑member exemptions and repeals paragraphs (12)‑(16) and subsections (h)‑(j) of the agricultural exemptions in the FLSA, expanding coverage to more farm workers.
Sets staggered effective dates: most changes take effect Jan 1 2030 for larger employers and Jan 1 2033 for smaller employers; some exemptions are removed earlier (Jan 1 2027 for large, Jan 1 2030 for small).
Updates related statutes (the FLSA and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act) to align definitions, using a 500‑man‑day threshold to determine which farms are subject to the new rules.

Legislative Activity

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HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Education and Workforce Committee

September 3, 2026

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

September 3, 2026

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Education and Workforce Committee

September 3, 2026

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued September 3, 2026

I

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 10273

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 3, 2026

Mrs. Grijalva introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 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.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Fairness for Farm Workers Act.

2.

Redressing discrimination against agricultural 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, 2027, 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 employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce) for a workweek 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.

(B)

The hours specified in this subparagraph are, subject to subparagraph (C), as follows:

(i)

Beginning on January 1, 2027, fifty-five hours in any workweek.

(ii)

Beginning on January 1, 2028, fifty hours in any workweek.

(iii)

Beginning on January 1, 2029, forty-five hours in any workweek.

(iv)

Beginning on January 1, 2030, 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, 2030; and

(ii)

the hours specified under subparagraph (B) shall apply as follows:

(I)

The number of hours specified under subparagraph (B)(i) shall begin on January 1, 2030.

(II)

The number of hours specified under subparagraph (B)(ii) shall begin on January 1, 2031.

(III)

The number of hours specified under subparagraph (B)(iii) shall begin on January 1, 2032.

(IV)

The number of hours specified under subparagraph (B)(iv) shall begin on January 1, 2033.

; and

(2)

by repealing subsection (m).

(b)

Removing certain exemptions for agricultural 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 employs more than 25 employees, on January 1, 2030; and

(B)

with respect to an employer that employs 25 or fewer employees, on January 1, 2033; and

(2)

subsection (b)(2) shall take effect—

(A)

with respect to an employer that employs more than 25 employees, on January 1, 2027; and

(B)

with respect to an employer that employs 25 or fewer employees, on January 1, 2030.

(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 Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1803(a)(2)) is amended by striking for whom the man-days exemption and all that follows through the period and inserting 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 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)..