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"Both the Illinois and federal minimum wage laws contain an
exemption for agricultural employment," said Donald L. Uchtmann.
"Because of these exemptions, only some Illinois farmers are
required by law to pay minimum wage for agricultural employment.
In contrast, none are required by law to pay 'time and a half'
overtime for agricultural employment." However, Uchtmann
cautioned, not all employment on the farm is "agricultural
employment."
"Many farmers intending to pay less than minimum wage or
intending not to pay overtime should consult an attorney before
relying on the agricultural exemption," he said.
Uchtmann's comments came as he reviewed the July 1 increase
in Illinois's minimum wage to $7.50 per hour. The minimum wage
under federal law also increases in July but remains lower than
Illinois' minimum wage. His
report, "Minimum Wage Increasing in Illinois but Ag
Exemption Is Unchanged," can be found in the
Law and
Taxation section of U of I Extension's farmdoc site. The
report is part of a law-related education program for Illinois
family farmers and is made possible by a gift from the Illinois
Bar Foundation. [To download Adobe Acrobat Reader for
the PDF file, click
here.]
"Both Illinois and federal laws exempt from their minimum
wage mandates wages paid to many agricultural employees by
family-sized farmers," he said.
When it comes to overtime, however, the agricultural
employment exemption is much broader than the exemption from the
hourly minimum wage.
"Consider a farmer with more than 500 worker days of
agricultural employment during one quarter of the preceding
calendar year," he said. "The law requires this farmer to pay
Illinois's $7.50 per hour minimum wage -- too many workers to be
exempt -- but this farmer is exempt from the 'time and a
half' for overtime mandate."
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 Not all employment "by farmers" or "on the farm" is agricultural
employment. The technical definition of agricultural employment is
important in determining whether a farmer must pay minimum wage or
overtime.
Under Illinois law, "agriculture" means farming in all of its
branches, including the cultivation and tillage of the soil;
dairying; the production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any
agricultural or horticultural commodity, excluding Christmas trees;
and the raising of livestock, bees, fur-bearing animals or poultry.
The definition also includes any practice, including forestry or
lumbering operations, performed by a farmer or on a farm as an
"incident to or in conjunction with" such farming operations,
including preparation for market, delivery to storage or to market,
or delivery to carriers for transportation to market.
"'Agriculture' does not include the processing of ag commodities
or any activities subsequent to processing," said Uchtmann. "The
phrase 'incident to or in conjunction with' does not include
construction by a private contractor of farm buildings on a farm.
"Farmers with more than five or six employees, farmers with farm
and nonfarm enterprises, farmers involved in the retail sale of
their agricultural products, and farmers who employ persons in tasks
beyond obvious 'agricultural activities' should seek legal advice
about how the laws apply to them."
[Text from file received from
the University of
Illinois Extension]
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