In a 5–4 opinion today, the state Supreme Court held that Washington’s overtime law applies to dairy workers.

RCW 49.46.130 requires employers to pay overtime when an employee works more than 40 hours in a week. There are some exceptions, including for agricultural workers.

Now, the Court has held that the agricultural exemption (RCW 49.46.130(2)(g)) “violates article I, section 12 of the Washington State Constitution as applied to dairy workers.” Article 1, section 12 states: “No law shall be passed granting to any citizen, class of citizens, or corporation other than municipal, privileges or immunities which upon the same terms shall not equally belong to all citizens, or corporations.”

The opinion specifically carves dairy workers out of the agricultural exemption because of the “extremely dangerous nature of dairy work” and because milking is “constant, factory-like work” that “is unlike that of piece-rate seasonal workers.”