Farm workers have long demanded overtime pay that kicks in after working 40 hours a week, just like other workers get. This year’s state budget included — at Gov. Kathy Hochul’s urging — a subsidy that will compensate farm owners for 100 percent of the cost of paying overtime, plus a little more to cover whatever extra is involved. Yet, farm owners are still resisting.
They’re wrong to do so.
Farm labor is hard work that sometimes requires very long hours. When it does, workers deserve to be paid fairly for their time. The reason a 40-hour overtime threshold is not already the law should make us wince: When the federal law that governs overtime pay was written in the 1930s, it excluded two job categories that were overwhelmingly held by African Americans — farm laborers and domestic workers.
Farmers may be anxious about whether they can pay overtime and stay afloat. But, the record shows that they should have more confidence in their own ability to be good managers. Overtime pay has worked out fine for farm owners in other states. And in the long run it will make New York farm businesses healthier and the farm economy stronger.
California is the nation’s largest and most important farm state. In the absence of federal action, it is also the state that started implementing overtime for farm workers first. In 2019, California started a four-year phase-in to a 40-hour overtime threshold (six years for small farms). Overtime pay has not corresponded with negative impacts or...
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