A rising minimum wage and a decrease in the overtime threshold in New York are both causing the state's farmers to reconsider their production decisions.
State legislation caused New York’s minimum wage to more than double between 2013 and 2020, and the overtime threshold is scheduled to drop from 60 hours to 40 hours by 2032. Now, a provision in a proposed budget and a separate legislative proposal could cause even greater cost increases for producers in the future.
“Our farmers are telling us that we need to push pause on these increases,” Steve Ammerman, communications director at the New York Farm Bureau, tells Agri-Pulse. “They are really concerned about where this could lead and what it means for their future.”
The first proposal — present in Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s fiscal year 2024 executive budget — looks to index the state’s minimum wage levels to inflation.
Part S of the budget proposal would amend Section 652 of the state’s labor law by adding a subdivision that requires employers to pay a minimum wage “determined by increasing the current year’s minimum wage rate by the lesser of 3% and the rate of change.” It would index minimum wage levels to inflation beginning in 2024 with specific rates contingent on economic conditions.
On Tuesday, the New York Farm Bureau flagged its opposition to the provision, saying it was "deeply concerned" about its impacts.
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