"Colorado’s first overtime rules for farmworkers are coming. But workers question who the changes help most," 6 Oct. 2021

The Polis administration has released a draft of the state’s first overtime pay rules for Colorado farmworkers. Its proposal ... establishes a phased process for rolling out overtime pay requirements over the next four years. The new guidelines are part of a landmark labor rights bill lawmakers passed during the most recent legislative session. But they are already drawing pushback from workers, who say the proposal favors farmers and large corporations.

Farmworkers and advocates for the Latino community gathered at the state Capitol on Tuesday to demand the Polis administration lower the new overtime requirements to 40 hours per week, which is the level for workers in other industries. 

... “The intent of (SB21-087) is to provide protection to farm workers,” said Mike Cortez, executive director of the Colorado Latino Leadership, Advocacy & Research Organization, a Denver-based nonprofit that advocated for the new overtime rules. “What we're looking at right now in this draft is more protection of their employers.” Hernandez, the Weld County farmworker, grew emotional as he spoke about working 80-hour weeks without receiving overtime. “I would like to see [workers] receive the salary that they deserve,” he said through a translator. “So they can pay their rent, they can pay their bills and so that they don’t have to resort to secondhand stores or food of lower quality because they can't afford anything better.”