House panel votes to remove farm-worker exemption from Virginia minimum wage

RICHMOND, Va.

The House Labor and Commerce Committee on Tuesday voted 12-9 to report House Bill 1625, a measure that would remove the farm-worker exemption from the Virginia minimum wage law and apply state minimum wage protections to workers in agriculture.

The bill's patron, Delegate Mariannette McClure, told the committee HB 1625 "removes the farm worker exemption from the, and the temporary foreign worker exemption from the Virginia minimum wage act." She said the change targets outlier employers who pay below federally established wages and would remove what she called a "discriminatory" carve-out.

The bill drew both opposition and support during the committee hearing. Kyle Shree of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation and Heidi Hertz of Cozen O'Connor, representing the Virginia Agribusiness Council, opposed the bill, citing concerns about interactions with federal rules and potential wage impacts tied to the federal adverse effect wage rate. Travis Rickman from the Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry warned the committee that additional wage mandates could "risk closures of small and medium sized farms," and he cited a recent loss of over 5,000 farms and nearly 500,000 acres of farmland over the last five years.

Supporters included advocates and labor groups who said most farmers already pay at or above the state minimum and that the bill would protect workers from extremely low pay. Rena (no last name provided) with Freedom Virginia said she supported the bill. Tram Nguyen of New Virginia Majority, Wes Gibson of the Virginia Education Association, Jason Erasch of the Legal Aid Justice Center, Doris Krause Mayes of the Virginia AFL-CIO, Ramon Cepeda Ramos of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, and Sophie McGinley of the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis each registered support on the record.

The committee debated whether the change would harm farm viability or create unfair competition. Delegate Rip Sullivan urged colleagues to consider recent statewide economic trends and past experience from broader minimum-wage increases, saying predictions of economic harm during prior increases did not materialize. After members questioned and heard testimony, the committee approved a motion to report the bill and advance it from the committee by a recorded vote of 12 to 9.

The committee's action sends HB 1625 on to the next stage of the legislative process. The measure was reported out of committee with no recorded amendments during the hearing.

Votes at the meeting were conducted electronically; the committee chair announced the final tally as 12-9 in favor of reporting the bill.