INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION ORDER NO. 14-80 (Revised) REGULATING

WAGES, HOURS, AND WORKING CONDITIONS IN THE
AGRICULTURAL OCCUPATIONS

1. APPLICABILITY OF ORDER

This Order shall apply to all persons employed in an agricultural occupation whether paid on a time, piece rate, commission, or other basis, except that:

(A) No provision of this Order shall apply to any employee who is engaged in work which is primarily intellectual, managerial, or creative, and which requires exercise of discretion and independent judgment, and for which the remuneration is not less than $900.00 per month;

(B) No provision of this Order shall apply to any individual who is the parent, spouse, child, or legally adopted child of the employer;

(C) Section 5 of this Order shall not apply to any employer who employs fewer than five (5) persons covered by this Order. If at any one time during a calendar year an employer has five (5) or more employees covered by this Order, every provision of this Order, including Section 5, shall apply to that employer throughout that calendar year.

(D) No provision of this Order shall apply to any employee covered by Order No. 8-80 or Order No. 13-80, relating to industries handling products after harvest.

(E) The provisions of this Order shall not apply to sheepherders.

2. DEFINITIONS

(A) "Commission" means the Industrial Welfare Commission of the State of California.

(B) "Division" means the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement of the State of California.

(C) "Employed in an agricultural occupation" means any of the following described occupations:

(1) The preparation, care, and treatment of farm land, pipeline, or ditches, including leveling for agricultural purposes, plowing, discing, and fertilizing the soil;

(2) The sowing and planting of any agricultural or horticultural commodity;

(3) The care of any agricultural or horticultural commodity. As used in this subdivision, "care" includes, but is not limited to, cultivation, irrigation, weed control, thinning, heating, pruning, or tieing, fumigating, spraying, and dusting;

(4) The harvesting of any agricultural or horticultural commodity, including but not limited to, picking, cutting, threshing, mowing, knocking off, field chopping, bunching, baling, balling, field packing, and placing in field containers or in the vehicle in which the commodity will be hauled, and transportation on the farm or to the place of first processing or distribution;

(5) The assembly and storage of any agricultural or horticultural commodity, including but not limited to, loading, roadsiding, banking, stacking, binning, and piling;

(6) The raising, feeding and management of livestock, fur bearing animals, poultry, fish, mollusks, and insects, including but not limited to herding, housing, hatching, milking, shearing, handling eggs, and extracting honey;

(7) The conservation, improvement or maintenance of such farm and its tools and equipment.

(D) "Employ" means to engage, suffer, or permit to work.

(E) "Employee" means any person employed by an employer.

(F) "Employer" means any person as defined in Section 18 of the Labor Code, who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other person, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of any person.

(G) "Hours worked" means the time during which an employee is subject to the control of an employer, and includes all the time the employee is suffered or permitted to work, whether or not required to do so.

(H) "Minor" means, for the purpose of this Order, any person under the age of eighteen (18) years.

(I) "Outside Salesperson" means any person, 18 years of age or over, who customarily and regularly works more than half the working time away from the employer's place of business selling tangible or intangible items or obtaining orders or contracts for products, services or use of facilities.

(J) "Piece rate basis" is a method of payment based on units of production or a fraction thereof.

(K) "Primarily" as used in Section 1, Applicability, means more than one-half the employee's work time.

(L) "Split shift" means a work schedule which is interrupted by non-paid non-working periods established by the employer, other than bona fide rest or meal periods.

(M) "Wages" (See California Labor Code, Section 200)

(N) "Workday" means any consecutive 24 hours beginning at the same time each calendar day.

(O) "Workweek" means any seven (7) consecutive days, starting with the same calendar day each week. "Workweek" is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours, seven (7) consecutive 24-hour periods.

3. HOURS AND DAYS OF WORK

(A) The following overtime provisions are applicable to employees eighteen (18) years of age or over and to employees sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age who are not required by law to attend school: such employees shall not be employed more than ten (10) hours in any one workday or more than six (6) days in any workweek unless the employee receives one and one-half (1 1/2) times such employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked over ten (10) hours in any workday and for the first eight (8) hours on the seventh (7th) day of work and double the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked over eight (8) on the seventh (7th) day of work in the workweek.

(See California Labor Code, Sections 1391 and 1394)

(VIOLATIONS OF CHILD LABOR LAWS are subject to civil penalties of from $500 to $10,000 as well as to criminal penalties provided herein. Refer to California Labor Code Sections 1285 to 1311 and 1390 to 1398 for additional restrictions on the employment of minors. Employers should ask school districts about required work permits.)

(B) An employee may be employed on seven (7) workdays in one workweek with no overtime pay required when the total hours of employment during such workweek do not exceed thirty (30) and the total hours of employment in any one workday thereof do not exceed six (6).

(C) The provisions of subsection (A) above shall not apply to an employee covered by this Order during any week in which more than half of such employee's working time is devoted to performing the duties of an irrigator.

(D) The provisions of this section are not applicable to employees whose hours of service are regulated by (1) the United States Department of Transportation Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, Sections 395.1 to 395.13, Hours of Service of Drivers, or (2) Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, Subchapter 6.5, Section 1200 and following sections, regulating hours of drivers.

(E) This section shall not apply to any employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement if said agreement provides premium wage rates for overtime work and a cash wage rate for such employee of not less than one dollar ($1.00) per hour more than the minimum wage.

4. MINIMUM WAGES

(A) Every employer shall pay to each employee wages not less than four dollars and seventy-five cents ($4.75) per hour for all hours worked, effective October 1, 1996; not less than five dollars ($5.00) per hour for all hours worked, effective March 1, 1997; not less than five dollars and fifteen cents ($5.15) per hour for all hours worked, effective September 1, 1997; and not less than five dollars and seventy-five cents ($5.75) per hour for all hours worked, effective March 1, 1998, except:

(1) LEARNERS. Employees 18 years of age or over, during their first one hundred and sixty (160) hours of employment in occupations in which they have no previous similar or related experience, may be paid not less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the minimum wage rounded to the nearest nickel.

(2) MINORS may be paid not less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the minimum wage rounded to the nearest nickel provided that the number of minors employed at said lesser rate shall not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the persons regularly employed in the establishment. An employer of less than ten (10) persons may employ three (3) minors at said lesser rate. The twenty-five percent (25%) limitation on the employment of minors shall not apply during school vacations.

(3) AGRICULTURAL OCCUPATIONS. Any employer hiring minors on a piece rate basis shall pay piece rates sufficient to yield not less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the minimum wage per hour rounded to the nearest nickel to eighty percent (80%) of the minors employed in an Agricultural Occupation in each pay period, but in no event shall any minor be paid less than eighty percent (80%) of the minimum wage per hour rounded to the nearest nickel.

NOTE: Under certain conditions, the full minimum wage may be required for minors. See Labor Code Section 1391.2 (b).

(B) Every employer shall pay to each employee, on the established payday for the period involved, not less than the applicable minimum wage for all hours worked in the payroll period, whether the remuneration is measured by time, piece, commission, or otherwise.

(C) When an employee works a split shift, one hour's pay at the minimum wage shall be paid in addition to the minimum wage for that workday, except when the employee resides at the place of employment.

(D) The provisions of this section shall not apply to apprentices regularly indentured under the State Division of Apprenticeship Standards.

5. REPORTING TIME PAY

(A) Each workday an employee is required to report for work and does report, but is not put to work or is furnished less than half said employee's usual or scheduled day's work, the employee shall be paid for half the usual or scheduled day's work, but in no event for less than two (2) hours nor more than four (4) hours, at the employee's regular rate of pay, which shall not be less than the minimum wage.

(B) If an employee is required to report for work a second time in any workday and is furnished less than two hours of work on the second reporting, said employee shall be paid for two hours at the employee's regular rate of pay, which shall not be less than the minimum wage.

(C) The foregoing reporting time pay provisions are not applicable when:

(1) Operations cannot commence or continue due to threats to employees or property; or when recommended by civil authorities; or

(2) Public utilities fail to supply electricity, water, or gas, or there is a failure in the public utilities, or sewer system; or

(3) The interruption of work is caused by an Act of God or other cause not within the employer's control.

(D) This section shall not apply to an employee on paid standby status who is called to perform assigned work at a time other than the employee's scheduled reporting time.

6. LICENSES FOR HANDICAPPED WORKERS

A license may be issued by the Division authorizing employment of a person whose earning capacity is impaired by physical disability or mental deficiency at less than the minimum wage. Such licenses shall be granted only upon joint application of employer and employee and employee's representative if any.

A special license may be issued to a nonprofit organization such as a sheltered workshop or rehabilitation facility fixing special minimum rates to enable the employment of such persons without requiring individual licenses of such employees.

All such licenses and special licenses shall be renewed on a yearly basis or more frequently at the discretion of the Division.

(See California Labor Code, Sections 1191 and 1191.5.)

7. RECORDS

(A) Every employer shall keep accurate information with respect to each employee including the following:

(1) Full name, home address, occupation and social security number.

(2) Birthdate, if under 18 years, and designation as a minor.

(3) Time records showing when the employee begins and ends each work period. Meal periods, split shift intervals and total daily hours worked shall also be recorded. Meal periods during which operations cease and authorized rest periods need not be recorded.

(4) Total wages paid each payroll period, including value of board, lodging, or other compensation actually furnished to the employee.

(5) Total hours worked in the payroll period and applicable rates of pay. This information shall be made readily available to the employee upon reasonable request.

(6) When a piece rate or incentive plan is in operation, piece rates or an explanation of the incentive plan formula shall be provided to employees. An accurate production record shall be maintained by the employer.

(B) Every employer shall semimonthly or at the time of each payment of wages furnish each employee, either as a detachable part of the check, draft, or voucher paying the employee's wages, or separately, an itemized statement in writing showing: (1) all deductions; (2) the inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is paid; (3) the name of the employee or the employee's social security number; and (4) the name of the employer, provided all deductions made on written orders of the employee may be aggregated and shown as one item.

(C) All required records shall be in the English language and in ink or other indelible form, properly dated, showing month, day and year, and shall be kept on file by the employer for at least three years at the place of employment or at a central location within the State of California. An employee's records shall be available for inspection by the employee upon reasonable request.

8. CASH SHORTAGE AND BREAKAGE

No employer shall make any deduction from the wage or require any reimbursement from an employee for any cash shortage, breakage, or loss of equipment, unless it can be shown that the shortage, breakage, or loss is caused by a dishonest or willful act, or by the gross negligence of the employee.

[The former second sentence which was part of this section, effective January 1, 1980, was removed, effective April 24, 1989, based on a judicial determination that it was inconsistent with California law and, therefore, invalid and unenforceable. People v. Industrial Welfare Commission et al., Santa Cruz Superior Court No. 85071.]

9. UNIFORMS AND EQUIPMENT

(A) When uniforms are required by the employer to be worn by the employee as a condition of employment, such uniforms shall be provided and maintained by the employer. The term "uniform" includes wearing apparel and accessories of distinctive design or color.

NOTE: This section shall not apply to protective apparel regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board.

(B) When tools or equipment are required by the employer or are necessary to the performance of a job, such tools and equipment shall be provided and maintained by the employer, except that an employee whose wages are at least two (2) times the minimum wage may be required to provide and maintain hand tools and equipment customarily required by the trade or craft.This Subsection (B) shall not apply to apprentices regularly indentured under the State Division of Apprenticeship Standards.

NOTE: This section shall not apply to protective equipment and safety devices on tools regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board.

(C) A reasonable deposit may be required as security for the return of the items furnished by the employer under provisions of subsections (A) and (B) of this section upon issuance of a receipt to the employee for such deposit. Such deposits shall be made pursuant to Section 400 and following of the Labor Code or an employer with the prior written authorization of the employee may deduct from the employee's last check the cost of an item furnished pursuant to (A) and (B) above in the event said item is not returned. No deduction shall be made at any time for normal wear and tear. All items furnished by the employer shall be returned by the employee upon completion of the job.

10. MEALS AND LODGING

(A) "Meal" means an adequate, well-balanced serving of a variety of wholesome, nutritious foods.

"Lodging" means living accommodations available to the employee for full-time occupancy which are adequate, decent, and sanitary according to usual and customary standards. Employees shall not be required to share a bed.

(B) Meals or lodging may not be credited against the minimum wage without a voluntary written agreement between the employer and the employee. When credit for meals or lodging is used to meet part of the employer's minimum wage obligation, the amounts so credited may not be more than the following:

Effective January 1, 1998		Effective March 1, 1998
Room occupied alone	$24.25 per week	$27.05 per week
Room shared	$20.00 per week	$22.30 per week
Apartment--two-thirds (2/3) of the ordinary rental value, and in no event more than	$290.80 per month	$324.70 per month
Where a couple are both employed by the employer, two-thirds (2/3) of the ordinary rental value, and in no event more than	$430.20 per month	$480.30 per month
Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner	$1.80 $2.55 $3.40	$2.05 $2.85 $3.80

(C) Meals evaluated as part of the minimum wage must be bona fide meals consistent with the employee's work shift. Deductions shall not be made for meals not received nor lodging not used.

(D) If, as a condition of employment, the employee must live at the place of employment or occupy quarters owned or under the control of the employer, then the employer may not charge rent in excess of the values listed herein.

11. MEAL PERIODS

(A) Every employer shall authorize and permit all employees after a work period of not more than five (5) hours to take a meal period of not less than thirty (30) minutes, except that when a work period of not more than six (6) hours will complete the day's work the meal period may be waived by mutual consent of employer and employee. Unless the employee is relieved of all duty during a thirty (30) minute meal period, the meal period shall be considered an "on duty" meal period and counted as time worked. An "on duty" meal period shall be permitted only when the nature of the work prevents an employee from being relieved of all duty and when by written agreement between the parties an on-the-job paid meal period is agreed to.

12. REST PERIODS

Every employer shall authorize and permit all employees to take rest periods, which insofar as practicable shall be in the middle of each work period. The authorized rest period time shall be based on the total hours worked daily at the rate of ten (10) minutes net rest time per four (4) hours or major fraction thereof.

However, a rest period need not be authorized for employees whose total daily work time is less than three and one-half (3 1/2) hours. Authorized rest period time shall be counted as hours worked for which there shall be no deduction from wages.

13. SEATS

When the nature of the work reasonably permits the use of seats, suitable seats shall be provided for employees working on or at a machine.

14. EXEMPTIONS

If, in the opinion of the Division after due investigation, it is found that the enforcement of any provisions in Section 7, Records; Section 11, Meal Periods; Section 12, Rest Periods; or Section 13, Seats, would not materially affect the welfare or comfort of employees and would work an undue hardship on the employer, exemption may be made at the discretion of the Division. Such exemptions shall be in writing to be effective and may be revoked after reasonable notice is given in writing. Application for exemption shall be made by the employer or by the employee and/or the employee's representative to the Division in writing. A copy of the application shall be posted at the place of employment at the time the application is filed with the Division.

15. FILING REPORTS

(See California Labor Code, Section 1174(a))

16. INSPECTION

(See California Labor Code, Section 1174)

17. PENALTIES

(See California Labor Code, Section 1199)

18. SEPARABILITY

If the application of any provision of this Order, or any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, word, or portion of this Order should be held invalid or unconstitutional or unauthorized or prohibited by statute, the remaining provisions thereof shall not be affected thereby, but shall continue to be given full force and effect as if the part so held invalid or unconstitutional had not been included herein.

19. POSTING OF ORDER

Every employer shall keep a copy of this Order posted in an area frequented by employees where it may be easily read during the work day. Where the location of work or other conditions make this impractical, every employer shall keep a copy of this Order and make it available to every employee upon request.

Section 98.6. (a) No person shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has filed any bona fide complaint or claim or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or relating to his rights, which are under the jurisdiction of the Labor Commissioner, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding or because of the exercise by such employee on behalf of himself or others of any rights afforded him.

(b) Any employee who is discharged, threatened with discharge, demoted, suspended, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of such employment because such employee has made a bona fide complaint or claim to the division pursuant to this part shall be entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by such acts of the employer. Any employer who willfully refuses to hire, promote, or otherwise restore an employee or former employee who has been determined to be eligible for such rehiring or promotion by a grievance procedure, arbitration or hearing authorized by law, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Section 200. As used in this article: (a) "Wages" includes all amounts for labor performed by employees of every description, whether the amount is fixed or ascertained by the standard of time, task, piece, commission basis, or other method of calculation.

Section 201. If an employer discharges an employee, the wages earned and unpaid at the time of discharge are due and payable immediately.

Section 202. If an employee not having a written contract for a definite period quits his employment, his wages shall become due and payable not later than 72 hours thereafter, unless the employee has given 72 hours previous notice of his intention to quit, in which case the employee is entitled to his wages at the time of quitting.

Section 205. In agricultural, viticultural, and horticultural pursuits, in stock or poultry raising, and in household domestic service, when the employees in such employments are boarded and lodged by the employer, the wages due any employee remaining in such employment shall become due and payable once in each calendar month on a day designated in advance by the employer as the regular payday. No two successive paydays shall be more than 31 days apart, and the payment shall include all wages up to the regular payday. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, wages of workers employed by a farm labor contractor shall be paid on payroll periods at least once every week on a business day designated in advance by the farm labor contractor. Payment on such payday shall include all wages earned up to and including the fourth day before such payday.

Section 205.5. All wages, other than those mentioned in Section 201, earned by any agricultural employee, as defined in Section 1140.4, are due and payable twice during each calendar month, on days designated in advance by the agricultural employer as the regular paydays. Labor performed between the 1st and the 15th days, inclusive, of any calendar month shall be paid between the 16th and the 22nd day of the month during which the labor was performed. Labor performed between the 16th and the last day, inclusive, of any calendar month shall be paid between the first and the seventh day of the following month. Agricultural employees, as used in this section, shall not include employees who are covered by Section 205.

Section 403. If cash is received as a bond it shall be deposited in a savings account in a bank authorized to do business in this State, and may be withdrawn only upon the joint signatures of the employer and the employee or applicant.

Section 1174. Every person employing labor in this state shall:

(a) Furnish to the commission, at its request, reports or information which the commission requires to carry out this chapter. Such reports and information shall be verified if required by the commission or any member thereof.

(b) Allow any member of the commission or the employees of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement free access to the place of business or employment of such person to secure any information or make any investigation which they are authorized by this chapter to ascertain or make. The commission may inspect or make excerpts, relating to the employment of employees, from the books, reports, contracts, payrolls, documents, or papers of such person.

Section 1199. Every employer or other person acting either individually or as an officer, agent, or employee of another person is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) or by imprisonment for not less than 30 days, or by both, who does any of the following:

(a) Requires or causes any employee to work for longer hours than those fixed, or under conditions of labor prohibited by an order of the commission.

(b) Pays or causes to be paid to any employee a wage less than the minimum fixed by an order of the commission.

(c) Violates or refuses or neglects to comply with any provision of this chapter or any order or ruling of the commission.

Section 1391.2. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 1391 and 1391.1, any minor under l8 years of age who has been graduated from a high school maintaining a four-year course above the eighth grade of the elementary schools, or who has had an equal amount of education in a private school or by private tuition, or who has been awarded a certificate of proficiency pursuant to Section 48412 of the Education Code, may be employed for the same hours as an adult may be employed in performing the same work.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of the orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission, no employer shall pay any minor described in this section in his employ at wage rates less than the rates paid to adult employees in the same establishment for the same quantity and quality of the same classification of work; provided, however, that nothing herein shall prohibit a variation of rates of pay for such minors and adult employees engaged in the same classification of work based upon a difference in seniority, length of service, ability, skill, difference in duties or services performed, whether regularly or occasionally, difference in the shift or time of day worked, hours of work, or other reasonable differentiation, when exercised in good faith.