United Campus Workers—2008 Reclassification of Agriculture Employees

United Campus Workers launched a campaign in 2008 to reclassify employees of the Institute for Agriculture who were classified as exempt from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act under an exemption for agricultural workers. More than one hundred Agricultural Experiment Station employees had been classified under the exemption and were working more than 45 hours a week without being paid overtime. The exemption also provided that an employee had to work 45 hours to be considered a full-time employee. The Agricultural Experiment Station had been working toward the reclassification for several years, according to Ronald Mote, associate dean of the Experiment Station. The employees’ hours were reduced to 40 per week, with overtime for additional hours, and pay was not reduced.