CO SB081

Beginning January 1, 2027, agricultural employees must be paid overtime at 1.5 times their regular rate for work exceeding 40 hours per workweek, 12 hours per workday, or 12 consecutive hours

Current Colorado law requires agricultural workers to work 48 hours weekly before earning overtime, while highly seasonal agricultural workers must work 56 hours; agricultural workers currently receive no daily overtime pay

Amends Colorado Revised Statutes section 8-6-120, replacing the 2021 directive for the Department of Labor to promulgate overtime rules with specific statutory overtime thresholds

Legislative findings cite the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938's exclusion of farmworkers from overtime protections and acknowledge the "inequity and racist origins" of these exclusions that Colorado previously adopted into state law

Effective date is August 12, 2026, unless a referendum petition is filed, in which case the measure would go to voters in November 2026