State board's final recommendation due on farmworker OT

Final recommendations will be made Tuesday to the state Labor Department regarding whether farmworkers across the state should receive overtime pay after working over 40 hours in a week versus the current 60-hour threshold.

The Farm Laborers Wage Board on Tuesday will hold a virtual meeting where the board is scheduled to give its report and recommendations to Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon as to whether the state should reduce the threshold over a 10-year period. The meeting starts at 4:30 p.m.

“I look forward to reviewing the board’s report and recommendations before announcing my decision,” Reardon said in a statement. “I’m also grateful for the many New Yorkers who provided input on this statewide discussion, which will be vital as we evaluate the state’s agricultural future.”

When the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act of 2019 was passed, farmworkers in the state became entitled for the first time to receive overtime pay starting in 2020. The threshold at the time was set at 60 hours per week, above the 40 hours common in most industries.

The board held an in-person public hearing on the matter in 2020 and has held eight virtual public hearings and four informational sessions since then. Farm laborers, farm owners, academic experts, elected officials and others offered testimony during the hearings.

The three members of the wage board are Brenda McDuffie, former president and CEO of the Buffalo Urban League; David Fisher, New York Farm Bureau president; and Denis Hughes, past president of the New York State AFL-CIO.

In January, the board recommended that the threshold be lowered by 20 hours over a 10-year period starting on Jan. 1, 2024. From then on, the threshold would be lowered by four hours every two years for a decade.

The commissioner will have 45 days to review the board’s findings and make a final decision.

A link to watch the livestreamed meeting will be available on the state wage board's webpage.