The debate over whether to grant farmworkers some of the basic rights most other American workers have long had — a 40-hour work week and overtime — usually turns into a rhetorical tapestry — pull one thread, and the whole food distribution system threatens to come undone.
Now along comes an idea from Gov. Kathy Hochul that could possibly address one of the most enduring concerns in this debate: Farmers say they simply can’t afford it.
But what if they could?
Ms. Hochul in her State of the State proposals suggested a new tax credit for the overtime farms pay employees. She didn’t explicitly say she favored a 40-hour work week for farmworkers, but the state has been considering it, and a tax credit could address concerns that farms would be hard pressed to pay for it.
Although the 40-hour week became the law of the land in 1940, farm workers have long been exempt under federal and most state laws. The exemption is widely regarded as racist, since farm labor is heavily minority — nearly 70 percent of the nonmanagerial, nonsupervisory labor force, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Most are Hispanic, mainly from Mexico.
A few states have standardized work days and weeks and overtime requirements for farm workers. California’s eight-hour day, 40-hour week for farms took effect this year except for farms with fewer than 25 workers. Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington have work weeks between 48 and 60 hours for some or all agricultural workers.
New York in...
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