The Denver Post has a politics piece from Sam Tabachnik and Seth Klamann on a question that sounds simple until you actually know anybody who works in agriculture: when should Colorado farmworkers get overtime? Five years after the 2021 “Farmworker Bill of Rights” changed the rules for a workforce that had long been exempt, Democrats are now fighting Democrats about whether the overtime protections went too far, or not far enough.
The article frames it as a showdown between two approaches. One bill has already been introduced by Sen. Jessie Danielson to lower the overtime threshold to a standard 40-hour workweek. Another bill, expected later, is being carried by Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez and would raise the threshold to 60 hours before overtime kicks in. Both sides say they are trying to do right by workers. Both sides also know this is the kind of policy that can put a family farm on the endangered species list.
You also get the backdrop that never changes: costs are up, prices are down, and farmers are getting squeezed from every direction. The Colorado Department of Agriculture’s markets division director Amanda Laban told lawmakers net farm income is expected to drop to $1.8 billion in 2026, about $400 million lower than last year, with markets in flux and the cost of doing business high. So do we have to put more on a farmer’s back?!
The Bullet Point Brief
- Colorado’s current overtime setup for farm labor is already a patchwork: overtime started phasing in at 60 hours, and now generally hits at 48 hours outside peak season and 56 during the busiest months. Welcome to government math.
- Farmers are backing Rodriguez’s not-yet-introduced bill to push the threshold back up to 60 hours, warning that lowering it further could be the final straw. Dave Petrocco Sr. in Brighton flat-out says if the ceiling drops, 2026 could be their last season.
- Worker advocates and Latino community leaders want overtime after 40 hours, like most other workers, and they’re backing Danielson’s bill to get there.
- Growers quoted in the story say the policy can boomerang. Some report hiring more workers to avoid overtime, and one long-time Palisade grower, Bruce Talbott, argues it can mean less take-home pay because hours get cut to dodge the penalty.
- Even inside the Democratic caucus, the tone is different. Rodriguez talks “death by 1,000 cuts” and lists water shortages, tariffs, and other pressures. Danielson pushes back and argues the state should be doing more to protect “vulnerable workers.” Different clowns, same circus.
My Bottom Line
This one is genuinely tough, because two things can be true at the same time. I have a ton of compassion for farm workers who come here legally, do backbreaking work, and want to earn an honest wage. That matters. It should be honored.
I also have a ton of compassion for the farmers and growers who have fed Colorado, the nation, and the world for generations. They do it while navigating rising input costs, tighter margins, water uncertainty, and a regulatory burden that grows faster than a thistle patch in July. They deserve respect, not suspicion.
And yes, I’m going to say what you’d expect me to say: the best place for this conversation is the free labor market, not the legislature trying to play referee on “fairness” with a one-size-fits-all number. Agriculture is seasonal, weather-dependent, and time-sensitive. If you miss the harvest window, you do not get a do-over. You get rot.
This debate also exists in the shadow of the federal government’s long-running failure to fix immigration. We’ve been saying “broken system” for more than twenty years because it has been broken for more than twenty years. Colorado is trying to micromanage labor rules while Washington can’t even manage the border or modernize legal pathways in a way that’s predictable for workers and workable for employers. That is backwards.
Credit where it’s due: Rodriguez is at least talking like someone who understands farmers are getting crushed from multiple directions. I do not love the skeptical posture Danielson takes toward the people producing our food. These families have been doing this longer than most of the Capitol crowd has been paying their own bills. How about we lead with respect.
If the legislature wants a radical idea, try this: talk to farmers first. Not the loudest lobbyist. Not the trendiest nonprofit. The quiet operations that reliably grow food, make payroll, and keep the lights on. Sit down, listen, understand the margins, and then decide if your next “fix” is actually a fix, or just another well-intentioned regulation that pushes the family farmer closer to bankruptcy and drives grocery prices higher.
Source: The Denver Post
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