Gov. Kathy Hochul hasn’t yet signed a wage board’s recommendation to decrease the number of hours for farm workers to qualify for overtime to 40 per week.
We have written several times that this is a bad time to decrease the overtime threshold. Many guest workers testified they would stop working in New York state if hours were capped. Cornell University research has shown farmers are likely to leave some areas of production if the new overtime rules are approved in favor of crops that take less manpower to harvest. And, as if that wasn’t enough, the Farm Laborer’s Wage Board hasn’t had a year where farmers weren’t dealing with COVID-19 to judge the effects of the 60-hour overtime threshold.
In our view, there are many reasons for Hochul to hold off on signing the recommendation. Add to the list the rampant inflation that has driven up grocery prices for everyone and the skyrocketing increases in fuel for both shoppers and farmers. This is a bad time to add another higher cost for farmers and the general public. We remain of the opinion Hochul should direct Roberta Reardon, state labor commissioner, to reject the Farm Laborer’s Wage Board’s recommendation.
But if Hochul decides to make a political statement and sign the wage board’s recommendation, then she must also make sure this year’s state budget helps mitigate the impact on farmers. Tax credits have been proposed to decrease farmers’ taxes to offset the higher labor costs. But how...
In January of 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice reported a record-breaking year for False Claims Act recoveries, with the vast majority related to healthcare. What the DOJ report does not captu...