Understanding Overtime for Winery Employees in Washington State

If you own a winery in Washington, recent changes to the state's overtime laws could significantly impact your salaried and agricultural employees, especially during the busy harvest season. Navigating these updates is essential for staying compliant and managing labor costs.

Washington's new regulations outline specific criteria for determining which employees are exempt from overtime pay, and these rules can apply differently depending on the type of work your team performs.

Understanding how these laws apply to your salaried workers and those in agricultural roles will help you prepare and adjust as needed.

Overtime and Exempt Status for Salaried Employees

Let’s start with salaried employees.  

Washington has established clear rules about which salaried employees qualify as "exempt" from overtime, including salary and duty requirements.  

For salaried employees to be exempt from overtime pay, they must meet both of the following criteria:

1. Their primary duties must be executive, administrative, or professional.

2. Their annual salary must be over $67,724.80, with this threshold set to rise each year through 2028.

In other words, your tasting room manager, head chef, or vineyard foreman is NOT exempt from overtime, even if you pay them a salary higher than $67,724.80.

Note that this does NOT mean that you need to pay all your salaried employees more than the threshold amount. You can still pay a lower salary, as long as it works out to at least minimum wage. 

The catch is that you still need to pay overtime if your salaried employees work more than 40 hours per week. In this case, your employee would be what they call “non-exempt.”

What Should You Do?

If you have salaried employees that do not meet the criteria to be considered exempt from overtime, you have several options:

1. Convert to hourly: You could move your salaried employees to an hourly rate, paying them overtime for hours beyond 40. 

2. Convert salaried employees to non-exempt: You can keep employees on salary but change their classification to non-exempt. This allows them to earn overtime for hours worked over 40. You must track hours and pay overtime when necessary.

3. Limit overtime: For employees who aren’t working significant overtime, limiting their hours to 40 per week may be the easiest solution. However, this might be more challenging for positions like vineyard or cellar managers during peak seasons.  Moreover, you still need to note these employees as non-exempt in your payroll system and pay them overtime if they do happen to work over 40 hours per week.

New Overtime Rules for Agricultural Workers

In addition to changes for salaried employees, overtime laws for agricultural workers, including many employees at wineries, have also shifted significantly in Washington.

Historically, agricultural workers were entirely exempt from overtime pay under federal and state law. However, recent changes in Washington are phasing in overtime protections for agricultural employees. 

Here’s what you need to know:

• Starting in 2022, agricultural workers became entitled to overtime pay after working more than 55 hours in a week.

• In 2023, this threshold decreased to 48 hours per week.

• By 2024, agricultural workers will earn overtime for any hours worked beyond 40 in a week, the same as non-agricultural workers.

These changes mean that your vineyard staff, cellar workers, and others involved in the production side of your winery are now entitled to overtime during peak seasons like harvest or bottling. Previously, you may not have needed to track their hours or worry about overtime costs, but this is no longer the case.

What Should You Do?

To manage these changes effectively, you should consider the following strategies:

1. Track hours for agricultural workers: Ensure you’re accurately recording the hours worked by your agricultural employees. This will help you calculate overtime and avoid potential violations of the new laws.

2. Budget for overtime: During busy seasons, when employees might work long hours, you’ll need to factor overtime pay into your payroll budget. Harvest season, for example, may lead to more overtime as vineyard and production staff work to meet demand.

3. Manage overtime costs: You may want to adjust staffing schedules or hire seasonal workers to help distribute hours more evenly. This can help minimize the overtime burden on your full-time staff.

Preparing for the Future

The salary threshold for exempt employees will continue to rise until 2028 and agricultural overtime protections now fully align with non-agricultural workers. As a winery owner, it's essential to assess your current workforce, develop a strategy for managing overtime, and plan ahead for these future increases.

For more information, you can consult resources from the Washington Department of Labor and Industries or industry associations, which offer detailed guidance on these overtime law changes.

In summary, whether your employees are salaried or agricultural, now is the time to review your payroll practices, track work hours, and budget for potential overtime costs. By staying on top of these changes, you’ll ensure compliance while keeping your operations running smoothly.