Legislation that would repeal the longstanding 10-hour daily overtime requirement for agricultural employees and replace it with an 8 hour requirement was approved by the Senate today on a 22-12 vote. The measure now goes to the Assembly for concurrence. AB 1313 by Assemblyman Michael Allen (D-Santa Rosa) is opposed by Western United Dairymen and a wide coalition of farm groups. The coalition spelled out the reasons for its opposition: “The legislature is ignoring the reality that California is one of the few states that imposes any overtime requirement at all on agriculture.  Farmers can’t control nature and the weather or market conditions, and policymakers recognized this reality when they created the 10 hour workday for agriculture.” Aug. 20, 2012 WUD News