NEVADA - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

Wages and Overtime

Minimum Wage

• State minimum wage requirements are governed by the 2006 Minimum Wage Amendment to the Nevada Constitution – Nev. Const. Art. 15, § 16.  A statute governing state minimum wage law predating the 2006 Minimum Wage Amendment to the Nevada Constitution is also still in effect, but, per the Supreme Court of Nevada, some provisions may have been superseded by the Amendment (see “Exceptions to State Minimum Wage Requirements” below). (NEV. REV. STAT. §§ 608.250–608.290).
• Effective from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, the state’s hourly minimum wage for covered employees is $10.50 if qualifying health benefits are not offered and $9.50 if qualifying health benefits are offered.
  • Subsequently, effective July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, the state’s hourly minimum wage for covered employees will rise to $11.25 if qualifying health benefits are not offered and $10.25 if qualifying health benefits are offered.
  • Effective starting July 1, 2024, the state’s hourly minimum wage will be $12 for all covered employers regardless of whether they offer qualifying health benefits to employees.
• If the federal minimum wage becomes higher than Nevada’s minimum wage, employers covered under Nevada’s minimum wage law will be required to pay employees at least the federal minimum wage rate. Also effective starting July 1, 2024, the state legislature will be granted the authority to establish state minimum wages as long as they are higher than the rate in the state constitution.

In order to pay the lower minimum wage, the employer must offer qualified health insurance for the employee and the employee’s dependents, with not more than a 6 month waiting period, and with the cost of the employee’s share of the premium not exceeding 10% of the employee’s gross taxable income from the employer. (NEV. ADMIN. CODE § 608.102) The SC of Nevada has held that the state’s minimum wage law is not preempted by FLSA because FLSA specifically provides that if a state’s minimum wage law is higher than the federal minimum wage, then the state minimum wage would control. Dancer v. Golden Coin, Ltd., 176 P.3d 271 (2008).

These minimum wage rates shall be adjusted by the amount of increases in the federal minimum wage over $5.15 per hour, or by the cumulative increase in the CPI, not to exceed 3% in any one year, if greater than the federal minimum wage increase. NEV. CONST. ART. 15, § 16.

Over the next three years, wages are scheduled to rise to:

July 1, 2022: $9.50/hr. (w/ health insurance) and $10.50/hr. (w/o health insurance)

July 1, 2023: $10.25/hr. (w/ health insurance) and $11.25/hr. (w/o health insurance)

July 1, 2024: $11/hr. (w/ health insurance) and $12/hr. (w/o health insurance)

• Most agricultural workers are covered by the state minimum wage.
• Exceptions to State Minimum Wage Requirements: State minimum wage requirements do not apply to persons who are: a) under the age of 18; b) employed by a nonprofit organization for after school or summer employment; c) employed as trainees for a period not longer than 90 days; or d) employed under a valid collective bargaining agreement waiving wage requirements in clear and unambiguous terms. Nev. Const. Art. 15, § 16; Nev. Admin. Code § 608.100.

Overtime

• State overtime requirements are governed by Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 608.018.  See also Nev. Admin. Code §§ 608.123, 608.125.
• Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 608.018(3)(a)-(p) lists exceptions to state overtime requirements.
• “Agricultural employees” are explicitly exempted from overtime pay. (Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 608.018(3)(k))

State Enforcement Agency

State of Nevada Department of Business & Industry, Office of the Labor Commissioner

Website: http://labor.nv.gov/
Relevant Forms: http://labor.nv.gov/About/Forms/FORMS_FOR_EMPLOYEES/

Occupational Safety and Health

Workers’ Compensation

• State workers’ compensation law is governed by the Nevada Industrial Insurance Act. Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 616A to 616D, inclusive. State law does not require coverage for agricultural workers, although employers may elect to provide coverage.  Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 616A.110(1)-(9) lists 9 types of persons excluded from the state workers’ compensation law, including “any person engaged in household domestic service, farm, dairy, agricultural or horticultural labor, or in stock or poultry raising.”  Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 616A.110(4).

State Enforcement Agency:
State of Nevada Department of Business & Industry, Industrial Relations, Workers’ Compensation Section

Website: http://dir.nv.gov/WCS/home/
Relevant Forms: http://dir.nv.gov/WCS/Workers__Compensation_Forms_and_Worksheets/

Field Sanitation

• There is a state law regarding field sanitation – NVOSHA Operations Manual, Ch. 10.
• The state has adopted the federal OSHA standards. 

State Enforcement Agency:
Department of Business and Industry, Division of Industrial Relations

Website: http://dir.nv.gov/OSHA/Home/

Pesticide Safety

• The Nevada Pesticides Act regulates the distribution, transportation, and sales of pesticide in the state. NEV. REV. STAT. §§ 586.010–586.965,; Nev. Admin. Code §§ 586.005 to 586.400, inclusive.
• Custom pesticide application is regulated at state level by Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 555.27605 to 555.460. See also Nev. Admin. Code §§ 555.250 to 555.700, inclusive.
• Suspected pesticide poisoning is not a reportable illness for health care providers. NEV. REV. STAT. §§ 441A.010–441A.930, ; NEV. ADMIN. CODE §§ 441A.010 ¬–441A.940.

State Enforcement Agency:
Department of Agriculture, Division of Plant Industry

Website: http://agri.nv.gov/Plant-Industry/

http://agri.nv.gov/Plant/Environmental_Services/Worker_Protection_Standard/

Right to Join Unions and Collective Bargaining in Agriculture

• There is no provision (or judicial interpretation of a provision) in the state constitution that grants farmworkers the right to join and organize labor unions free from retaliation or the right to engage in collective bargaining with their employers.
• Nevada is a “right to work” state (Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 613.010 to 613.620), meaning no person can be compelled to join a union as a condition of employment or be required to pay union dues.

State Legal Services Organizations

Nevada Legal Services
https://nlslaw.net/