A New York State Farm Wage Board, put in place through a state law enacted in 2019 known as the “Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act,” is about to revisit one of the law’s key provisions and the outcome could forever impact the future of New York agriculture.
In other words, it’s a monumental moment in time for our farmers.
This Wage Board will be deciding, without legislative approval, whether to lower the mandatory overtime pay threshold for farm workers from the current 60 hours to 40 hours.
Keep in mind that the 2019 law was enacted following a strong push by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo in his pursuit, in my view, of a so-called “progressive” political agenda that simply failed to recognize the unique position of farming as an industry.
Throughout the year prior to the enactment of the “Farmworkers Fair Labor Pratices Act,” many opponents, including the New York Farm Bureau, warned about its consequences and set out to find some reasonable compromise and common ground. I fully shared this opposition and the need for common sense, and fought hard against the law that was ultimately enacted. In particular, we feared that mandatory overtime pay and other provisions, especially the creation of this three-member Farm Wage Board granted the authority to unilaterally change the law without legislative approval, could worsen the impact of farm labor costs on farm income at a time when the farm economy is already struggling.
We warned that it could increase already exorbitant...
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