Overtime and Workweek Determinations

Some farmers and ranchers will owe overtime for all hours worked over 40 in the week. This means it’s important to determine the workweek accurately, so we can figure out when to start paying overtime. Many farm workers work untraditional weeks, and the way to distinguish one workweek from another might get hazy. The workweek does not have to coincide with the calendar week nor the customary Monday through Friday business week. It does, however, need to be a regularly recurring period, totaling 168 hours. Each week will be identical, no matter when you determine it starts or ends. Determining both the type of labor assigned and the weeks to which it is assigned is the employer’s responsibility.