By Erica Shelley Nelson and Harrison Owens
In Demetrio v. Sakuma Brothers Farms, Inc., the Washington State Supreme Court found that piece rate workers must be paid for rest breaks, and they must be paid the higher rate of pay, either the minimum wage or the regular rate of pay. In their complaint, agricultural workers paid based on the number of “pieces” of output they produced asked the Court to determine whether they were entitled to paid rest breaks, and if so how much they must be paid. The Court stated that piece rate workers were entitled to paid rest breaks under Washington law, and the rate had to be the greater of workers’ regular rate of pay or the applicable minimum wage.
The primary question presented to the Court concerned the right of agricultural workers normally paid at a “piece rate” to paid rest breaks. Generally, employees paid by the hour are paid their regular hourly rate during their rest breaks under Washington law. In other words, they remain “on the clock” during these break periods. Workers paid at a “piece rate” are paid based on the number of items they produce, rather than an hourly wage. This means that, by definition, they are normally not paid while they are not actively producing goods.
Under Washington law, employees possess the right to take short rest breaks “on the employer’s time.” When applied to hourly wage workers, this means that they are still paid during these rest breaks because they remain “on the clock.” The Court first analyzed whether piece rate workers were also entitled to paid rest breaks “on the employer’s time” under Washington law.
The Court examined whether “on the employer’s time” also applied to piece rate workers, as they do not normally get paid for periods of inactivity regardless of whether they are on a break or not. Experts like a workers compensation lawyer or a work injury attorney protect the rights of employees generally to take short rest breaks without losing their right to compensation during this time. The Court found that not allowing piece rate workers to be paid during rest breaks, and distinguishing them from workers paid an hourly wage, would directly contradict the intent of Washington wage-and-hour law and other cases interpreting it. Therefore, the Court stated that under Washington law employers must pay a wage separate from the piece rate for time spent on rest breaks to agricultural piece rate workers.
The Court then examined the rate at which piece rate workers should be paid under Washington law, as they do not have a set hourly wage that could be easily applied to their rest breaks. The Court found that the applicable Washington law at issue did not specify a rate of pay required for employee rest breaks. The Court instead found that the most basic applicable wage rate is the minimum wage of Washington. The Court stated that, in all piece rate worker situations, they had to be paid at least minimum wage during their rest breaks. However, the Court also stated that if the employer also has workers who are paid an hourly rate that is higher than the minimum wage, they must also pay the piece rate workers at the same rate during their rest breaks. Therefore, the Court stated that piece rate workers must be paid the higher of minimum wage or the regular rate of pay the other workers receive during their rest breaks.
This case is a victory for agricultural laborers throughout Washington who will now be paid during their legally mandated rest breaks. The Court made the right decision here. There is no sound basis to conclude that piece rate workers should somehow be excluded from the wide array of legal protections that every other employee in Washington is afforded. Sakuma Brothers Farm is one of the largest berry growers in Washington. This case represents a victory in one of several battles that Sakuma Brothers’ farmworkers have battled over pay and housing in the last several years. Hopefully, with continued legal and union pressure, Sakuma Brothers will begin to start evaluating and changing their company practices for the betterment of their employees.
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