Colette Bordelon is a reporter with Denver7.
On Tuesday, Coloradans are expected to commemorate Farm Workers Day instead of César Chávez Day as a result of the fallout from sexual abuse allegations against the Latino labor leader.House Bill 26-1339 moved quickly through both chambers of the Colorado State Capitol to enact the change, which Gov.
Jared Polis is expected to sign on Tuesday morning. 'We wanted to make sure that we had this done before the 31st,' said prime sponsor of the legislation, Democratic House Majority Leader Monica Duran.Duran, who said she was bombarded with calls and messages about changing the name of the holiday, also found her lived experience caught up in the conversation. 'I marched with César Chávez, because my mother and my family all marched with him and Dolores Huerta. He was someone they looked up to,' Duran explained. “When it came out regarding sexual assault and rape, obviously, the work I do as a domestic violence survivor and a survivor of both of those issues, I knew it was time to pause and to listen, because it's one thing we're always hearing from survivors. No one's listening to us. We're not being heard. We're being silenced, and we had to move quickly.”◼️ Read more of Denver7's stories on Colorado politics hereTyson Brown, a fourth-generation farmer and rancher who was born and raised in Yuma, knows just how dedicated farm workers are to their job. 'I think it's great that they're getting recognized,' Brown said. 'A lot of them take a lot of pride in their work. The employers really do appreciate it. Everybody has to be bought into it, whether it's the owners of the business or the people who are working in the business; everybody cares just as much as the next person. And I think that's what makes something successful.”Meanwhile, a conversation surrounding overtime pay for agriculture workers is unfolding inside the Capitol. Senate Bill 26-121 is a bipartisan proposal seeking a 56-hour per week threshold for overtime pay for agricultural employees. The original proposal aimed to implement a 60-hour threshold. “We might be a bit of an experiment in this space. So that says that 56 is right. Maybe it was 60, but we were happy to settle on 56 to kind of move the bill forward,' explained Republican Senate Minority Leader Cleave Simpson, when discussing an amendment made to the legislation. In 2021, Colorado established overtime pay for farm workers. As of 2025, the overtime pay for agricultural workers begins after 48 hours per week, or after 56 hours during peak weeks for highly seasonal employees. Exceptions would be made for family members of the agricultural employer, managers, and those who mainly manage livestock on an open range. A competing bill, Senate Bill 26-081, would have reduced the threshold for overtime to 40 hours a week, but it failed in committee.
A Labor Of Love: Colorado To Commemorate Farm Work A Labor Of Love: Colorado To Commemorate Farm Work Brown Farms Chávez Colorado Chávez Rape Allegations Cleave Simpson Colorado 2026 Legislative Session Colorado Eastern Plains Colorado House Of Representatives
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