Assemblyman Chris Tague is blasting the state Department of Labor’s final decision on overtime wages for farm workers.
“These are the types of job-killing and economy-busting policies that New Yorkers don’t need and can’t comprehend,” Assemblyman Tague said.
“I’m deeply disappointed [they] didn’t listen to common sense, or more importantly, the farmers and farm workers impacted…”
Last Wednesday, the NYSDOL voted in favor of a plan that lowers the threshold for when farm workers qualify for OT from what’s now 60 hours a week to 40.
The reduction will begin on January 1, 2024 and be reduced by four hours every year until fully phased-in by 2032.
Labor officials had previously signed off on the change after starting a two-year process to consider the change with a Wage Board composed of farm workers, advocacy organizations, agriculture producers and labor unions.
The change will also be coupled with tax credits meant to offset the financial cost of the change.
“These new regulations ensure equity for farm workers, who are the very backbone of our agriculture sector,” said New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon.
“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.”
But in reality, Assemblyman Tague said, it will do the opposite.
Farms unable to afford wage increases will be forced to close, he said, calling it a “downstate-driven policy that has no place on our farms. Farming is not a 9 to 5 job.
“All New Yorkers will suffer the consequences of losing access to fresh, affordable, locally grown or produced food. No farms, no food.”
The change has been supported by groups like the New York Civil Liberties Union, which has argued the higher threshold for overtime is a “vestige of racially motivated labor policy from nearly a century ago.”
But like Assemblyman Tague, the New York Farm Bureau has also opposed the lowered threshold over concerns smaller producers would be adversely affected by the change.