State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon has approved a recommendation from the Farm Laborer Wage Board to reduce the overtime threshold from 60 hours to 40 hours that will be phased in over a ten-year time period.

Three tax credits were passed by the State Legislature and signed by Governor Kathy Hochul this year in anticipation of the adoption of the lower overtime threshold recommendations. These include an Investment Tax Credit that was increased from four to 20% for farm businesses, the Farm Workforce Retention tax credit that was increased to $1,200 per employee, and a Refundable Overtime Tax Credit was established for overtime hours paid by farm employers.

Advocates for farmworkers have pushed for the change, calling it a necessary way of including agriculture workers in a nearly century-old labor law. But farmers have been angered by the effort to lower the overtime threshold, calling it out of touch with the ways of a working farm and warning it could have dire financial consequences for them.

State Senator George Borrello issued a statement saying the decision will “..spell the end for many farms in this once-vibrant industry and force others to scale down production, increase automation or relocate. Farm workers have repeatedly said that this move will force them to seek work in other states where they can work without limits on their earnings.”

New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher, who was the only member of the Farm Laborer Wage Board to vote against the overtime recommendation, also issued a statement saying, “This is 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.

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.”

State Senator George Borrello calls for the elimination of the Farm Laborer Wage Board

A proposal by State Senator George Borrello to eliminate the Farm Laborer Wage Board and keep the farm labor overtime threshold at the 60-hour level failed on the Senate floor.

Borrello said in a statement, “The farmers I’ve spoken with in my district are dedicated to their work, but are finding it harder to stay afloat financially due to a combination of market changes and burdensome policies coming from Albany. With our agriculture industry poised for more pain because the unelected members of the Farm Laborer Wage Board recommended lowering the overtime threshold, I led a hostile amendment on the senate floor that would eliminate this board and its ability to further harm this vital industry.

On January 28, the Wage Board recommended lowering the overtime threshold from 60 hours per week to 40 hours per week despite warnings from farmers and agriculture producers that the resulting hike in labor costs will decimate agriculture in New York.

Borrello said, “The Wage Board ignored the testimony of farmers, farm workers and a report from Cornell University warning that lowering the overtime threshold will result in less hours and money for farm laborers and threaten the future of farming in New York.”

During the session Wednesday, the Senate passed a series of bills Borrello co-sponsored to support farmers including:

The Locally Sourced Goods for Schools Bill to make it easier for school districts to buy local farm products for school lunches;

The Young Farmers Loan Forgiveness Act to expand eligibility for the New York State Young Farmer Loan Forgiveness Program;

The Farm Workforce Retention Credit Increase Bill to double the farm workforce retention credit from $600 to $1,200 per farm worker for tax years 2021 through 2025; and

The New York State Food Products Bill to increase the purchase of New York farm products by state agencies and facilities.

The Senate also passed a series of agriculture bills Wednesday that Senator Borrello voted for, including:
The One-Stop Farming Hotline Bill that establishes a farming hotline, with assistance from the Cornell Cooperative Extension. The hotline provides information on all aspects of farming including tax credit programs, beginning farmer loans, and sustainable practices;

The Office of Urban Agriculture Bill to create the office of Urban Agriculture to assist and promote different forms of urban farming across the state;

Produce Produced In State Bill to direct the Department of Agriculture and Markets to develop and facilitate regional farmers’ markets to promote the direct marketing of farm products to large-volume purchasers;

Agrivoltaics In Farming Education Bill to direct the Department of Agriculture and Markets to provide guidance and educational materials on the benefits of co-locating solar power systems on active

farmland for crop production;
The Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Act to create the New York State Council on Food Policy to develop state food policies to ensure all New Yorkers are able to eat a healthy diet and avoid food insecurity by consuming New York-grown foods as much as possible; and

Farmers Markets in State Parks Bill to permit farmers markets in state and local parks.