Sen. George Borrello and Assemblyman Andrew Goodell are looking for bipartisan support to eliminate the Farm Laborers Wage Board.
Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, and Goodell, R-Jamestown, have introduced S.9509 to eliminate the farm labor board, which was established in the 2019 Farm Workers Fair Labor Practices Act to evaluate lowering the overtime threshold for farm labor overtime from the 60 hours a week established by law for farmworkers in 2019. The wage board decided to recommend no changes in December 2020 before starting a new process in 2021. The hearings were held by Zoom.
In January, the wage board recommended lowering the overtime threshold to 40 hours over 10 years starting in 2024. Gov. Kathy Hochul has yet to take action on the Farm Laborers Wage Board recommendation after a flurry of opposition from farm organizations and lawmakers, including Borrello.
The wage board proposes four-hour decreases in the overtime threshold every other year. The state did budget did include a Farm Worker Overtime Tax Credit to reimburse farms for overtime expenses if the overtime threshold goes below 60 hours a week. Farmers would pay overtime wages up front and then be reimbursed for overtime hours after the fact. It’s also unlikely hours worked over 60 hours would be covered by the tax credit.
“Throughout the public comment period, feedback from farmers and farmworkers has overwhelmingly been that the impact of going from 60 hours to anything less will create a labor crisis for New...
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