What is SQ 832?
Oklahoma voters will decide the fate of State Question 832 during Oklahoma’s June 16, 2026, primary election. It will be the only state question appearing on the primary ballot alongside a long list of political office hopefuls.
SQ 832 seeks to raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage in four phases beginning in 2027. Hiding under the promise of a higher minimum wage, however, is the removal of overtime and youth worker exemptions for agricultural operations.
The minimum wage increase that the measure proposes would raise the minimum wage in Oklahoma from the current federal minimum of $7.25 per hour to $12 per hour in 2027 with two more increases following in 2028 and 2029. From 2030 onward, the minimum wage in Oklahoma would be tied to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI-W price index, aligning the state’s minimum wage with federal inflation data, taking control of future minimum wage increases out of the hands of Oklahomans.
Oklahoma Farm Bureau asks voters to vote “No” on SQ 832 to protect our farming and ranching families, preserve local businesses and keep control of our state’s minimum wage in the direct control of Oklahomans.
Vote NO on SQ 832 June 16
How SQ 832 would increase Oklahoma’s minimum wage
Current Minimum Wage
$7.25 per hour
2027 Minimum Wage
$12 per hour
2028 Minimum Wage
$13.50 per hour
2029 Minimum Wage
$15 per hour
2030+ Minimum Wage
Automatic increases with no limit, with actual wage amount tied to a federal price index
The impact on Family Farmers and Ranchers
SQ 832 would remove long-standing exemptions that provide farmers and ranchers with flexibility that is needed when timing is critical to plant or harvest crops and to care for livestock.
Agriculture is far from a 9-to-5 job, and during critically important times of the year, farmers, ranchers and their employees put in extra hours to ensure that crops are planted on-time, harvested at the peak of quality and livestock are tended to when it matters.
SQ 832 would remove long-standing exemptions regarding overtime pay that allows farmers, ranchers and their employees to work extra hours when needed without the burden of excessive overtime pay. Even when the hours are long in the field, farmers and ranchers can provide flexibility to their workers in the off-season, ensuring farmers and ranchers can offer their employees a working environment that fits many different schedules.
SQ 832 also removes youth worker exemptions, meaning rural Oklahomans who want to learn the hard work ethic that will help them throughout life by working on local farms and ranchers will be priced out of consideration due to extreme minimum wage increases.
We are all about paying our employees fairly, but these new laws would exponentially increase farm labor costs during important times of the year when farmers and their work crews are in the field for 12 to 16 hours, or more, when a crop has to be harvested or when livestock have to be monitored. It takes away flexibility we have as ag producers along with the flexibility we can offer our employees in the off-season.
– Stacy Simunek, OKFB President
Increasing costs for Oklahoma consumers
SQ 832 would raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage across the board, negatively impacting 8 out of 10 small businesses as the minimum wage more than doubles by 2028.
The impact on small businesses could call into question whether or not a local store or shop can stay open.
Even for businesses that can sustain the sharp increase in wages, the real cost will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Oklahoma families have already faced years of inflationary pressure with everything from food staples to business supplies seeing steady price increases.
While the minimum wage increase may look attractive for entry-level wage earners, the initial wage increase SQ 832 outlines will eventually transition to a steady upward march tied to a federal price index. The linking of minimum wage in Oklahoma to the federal CPI-W index raises concerns that the most vulnerable Oklahomans could stand to lose their jobs as businesses facing rising wage costs could move to simply cut positions, automate tasks or restructure their business
We would hate to see Oklahomans once again be pinched between rising costs of daily necessities such as groceries and then face losing their jobs due to skyrocketing labor costs due to SQ 832. While SQ 832 might look like the saving grace of workers, it really stands to cut them off at the knees by pricing them out of the job market.
– Stacy Simunek, OKFB President
Links and resources
See what Oklahoma’s business community is saying about the negative consequences of SQ 832:
Download our issues backgrounder
Download our one-pager issues backgrounder (PDF file) with OKFB’s stance on SQ 832.
