A policy that would bring overtime rules for farm laborers in line with workers in other industries cleared an important hurdle in New York State in January.
The Farm Laborer Wage Board voted to recommend that the state labor commissioner reduce the threshold for farm workers to begin receiving overtime pay from 60 to 40 hours per week, and that the change be phased in over the next 10 years. The board decision has sparked fierce debate, with labor groups declaring it’s about time, and agricultural trade groups bemoaning the financial burden it will add to farm operations, many of which are small businesses that are struggling to stay afloat amid rising labor costs.
“Over the last few years, the supply of labor has been very tight, and that’s a systematic problem on Long Island that goes for everybody, not just agriculture,” says Robert Carpenter, administrative director of the Long Island Farm Bureau, which counts many of the approximate 550 farms in Suffolk County among its members.
“We all have the same season,” says Lisa Sannino, founder of Sannino Vineyard in Cutchogue, which employs workers in both its winemaking and tasting room operations. “So we’re all competing for the same workers at the same time.”
The minimum wage rose to $15 on Long Island this year, and the worker shortage is putting additional upward pressure on wages for seasonal jobs. Splish Splash announced it will pay up to $19 per hour to new hires this summer. Given the keen competition for labor,...
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