Wage board could change 60-hour overtime rule for farmworkers
A three-person wage board will hold hearings around the state before making a recommendation on farmworkers' overtime. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
New York State could change the number of hours that farmworkers must work before earning overtime pay, officials said.
The state Department of Labor plans to convene a three-member wage board to examine the threshold over which time-and-a-half must be paid to farm employees. The threshold is now 60 hours per week.
Prior to a new law that took effect Jan. 1, there was no requirement to pay farm workers overtime, no matter how many hours they worked.
The wage board will make recommendations by Dec. 31 to state Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon, who will have until February 2021 to accept or reject them. Her decision doesn’t have to be ratified by the State Legislature.
Reardon announced the board’s creation on Monday.
The new law, called the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act, has been controversial in farm country because in addition to overtime pay it provides a day of rest each week, paid family leave, unemployment benefits and potential union membership.
“We have an opportunity to improve the quality of life for tens of thousands of farmworkers,” Reardon said in a statement. “Overtime is a key component and we need to get it right.”
Bill Zalakar, newly-elected president of the Long Island Farm Bureau, said some farmers have told him “they cannot afford to pay overtime. These are seasonal businesses…We keep losing farms every year on Long Island. It’s getting worse,” Zalakar said.
Steve Ammerman, a spokesman for the state Farm Bureau, agreed, saying farms “are already at the breaking point.”
His boss, state farm bureau president David Fisher, will serve on the wage board. The other members are Denis Hughes, former president of the state AFL-CIO, a union umbrella group, and Brenda McDuffie, president of the Buffalo Urban League.
The board will hold a public hearing on April 16 at 11 a.m. in Brookhaven Town Hall, 1 Independence Hill, in Farmingville. It will be the fourth of five hearings across the state.
Individuals wishing to testify before the board should register at labor.ny.gov/farmwageboard
A prior wage board increased the hourly minimum pay of fast-food workers from $8.75 to $15. The decision was a precursor to the state’s wage rate for all workers rising to $15 over the next few years.
James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.
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Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
