In early September, a New York State Wage Board, established under a 2019 law known as the “Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act,” will finalize its recommendation on one of the key provisions of that three-year-old law – and its decision could forever impact New York agriculture as we have known it.
Specifically, the Farm Wage Board will issue a final report on Sept. 6 and recommend lowering the mandatory overtime pay threshold for farmworkers from the current 60 hours to 40 hours, a move strongly opposed by farmers and many legislators, including me.
The final decision then falls to Governor Kathy Hochul and state Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon, a holdover from the prior Cuomo administration, who will have 45 days to review the Farm Wage Board’s final report before acting.
In other words, the future of farming in New York State hangs in the balance thanks to a law enacted in 2019 that was pushed by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo as a cornerstone of his so-called “progressive” remake of New York government.
Throughout the year prior to the enactment of the Act, I joined many opponents, including the New York Farm Bureau, to warn about its consequences. We feared that mandatory overtime pay and other provisions of the law, especially the creation of a three-member Wage Board granted the authority to unilaterally change the law’s provisions, without legislative approval, could worsen the impact of farm labor costs on farm income at a time when the farm economy is already...
; ; ; President on Thursday claimed not to and suggested that his multiple attacks against the over the past week are merely the product of a disagreement over ’s nuclear weapons program — somethi...