And Jesus say, “Don’t pay fieldworkers overtime because it will take food out of the mouths of fat farmers.” Wait… that might not be in the bible, but this verse is…
Luke 14:5: “Then he turned to them and said, which of you does not work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?” - said by Assemblyman Devon Mathis, (R-Visalia) during deliberations.
And just like that, Jesus is used to justify not paying fair wages to a whole class of people. California Assembly Bill 2757 failed on a 37-35 vote.
The bill would have expanded upon that to bring agricultural overtime rules in line with other industries, eventually guaranteeing laborers 1 1/2 times their normal wages for every hour they work over eight in a day or 40 a week. Working more than 12 hours a day would have meant double pay. - via The Sacramento Bee
Is it Christian to buy cheap produce and wine while the people who pick our carrots and grapes cannot make a decent living? Not to mention the backbreaking manual labor that goes into each salad or bottle? Is it fair to deny these people overtime pay that someone who is driving or selling these same products get by law? I don’t think so and using the alleged words of Jesus to justify doing so is hypocrisy of the highest order.