ALBANY, N.Y. — New York State will start lowering the overtime pay threshold for farm workers next Jan. 1, reducing it to 56 hours from the current 60. The process will continue with the overtime threshold limit going down by four hours every other year until reaching 40 hours in 2032. That’s when farm workers […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York State will start lowering the overtime pay threshold for farm workers next Jan. 1, reducing it to 56 hours from the current 60.
The process will continue with the overtime threshold limit going down by four hours every other year until reaching 40 hours in 2032. That’s when farm workers will start receiving overtime pay when working more than 40 hours as other workers in the economy do.
The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) on Feb. 22 announced the adoption of the final farm-labor overtime regulations. It codifies the order from New York State Commissioner of Labor Roberta Reardon that accepted the report and recommendations from the Farm Laborers Wage Board last September.
“These new regulations ensure equity for farm workers, who are the very backbone of our agriculture sector,” Reardon contended in a news release. “By implementing a gradual transition, we are giving farmers time to make the appropriate adjustments. These new regulations advance New York State’s continued commitment to workers while protecting our farms.”
The decision generated strong opposition from farm advocates.
David Fisher, president of the New York Farm Bureau (NYFB), last Sept. 30, called it a “difficult day for all those who care about New York being able to feed itself.”
“Commissioner Reardon’s decision to lower the farm labor overtime threshold will make it even tougher to farm in this state and will be a financial blow to the workers we all support,” Fisher said in an NYFB statement. “Moving forward, farms will be forced to make difficult decisions on what they grow, the available hours they can provide to their employees, and their ability to compete in the marketplace. All of this was highlighted in the testimony and data that the wage board report and the commissioner simply ignored.”
U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney (R–NY-24) on Feb. 22 slammed the Labor Department’s final regulation adoption.
“The Department of Labor has refused to listen to farmers at every step in this process. Today’s disastrous decision to proceed with lowering the overtime pay threshold sadly comes as no surprise,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “Kathy Hochul, her Department of Labor, and Democrats in Albany have turned their backs on New York’s family farms. This gravely misguided decision deliberately ignored input from important stakeholders and will worsen the already difficult headwinds for New York’s agriculture sector. No farms, no food isn’t just a slogan; it will become the new reality if Albany Democrats continue to treat New York’s family farms with such disdain. I will continue my fight in Congress to assist our farm businesses and hold Albany Democrats accountable for this disastrous decision.”
New York’s 24th Congressional District, which Tenney represents, is among the largest agriculture districts in the Northeast, producing dairy, beef, crops, wine, apples, and much more, her office says.
New initiatives, tax credits
Beginning in 2020, the Farm Laborers Wage Board held public hearings to gather testimony from farm owners, workers, advocacy groups, and academic researchers, NYSDOL said.
In her State of the State address, Gov. Hochul announced a series of new initiatives designed to bolster demand for New York state foods, increase the purchasing of local farm products, and encourage investments to modernize New York’s farms, the department noted.
Hochul and state lawmakers also recently enacted new tax credits to help farm employers to “ease the implementation of the lower overtime standard.” They include the Investment Tax Credit, which was increased from 4 percent to 20 percent for farm businesses, “providing an encouragement for potential automation of farm production.”
In addition, the Farm Workforce Retention Tax Credit was increased to $1,200 per employee to provide near-term relief to farmers, NYSDOL said. A refundable tax credit was also established for overtime hours paid by farm employers at the level established by the new regulation up to 60 hours.