Certification From the U.S. Dist. Court for the E. Dist. of Wash. in Mariano Carranza v. Dovex Fruit Co.

STEPHENS, J. (dissenting)

¶ 35 Washington's Minimum Wage Act (MWA), ch. 49.46 RCW, was never intended to restrict the type of compensation system an employer may use, whether it be an hourly, salary, commission, or piece-rate system. Rather, the statute's mandate is clear: every employer must pay each employee a minimum wage rate of pay for every hour worked. Ignoring the statutory term "rate," the majority creates a "per hour" right to separate compensation under the MWA for the time agricultural pieceworkers spend performing tasks outside of piece-rate picking work. This holding disregards…