A decision on how many hours farm workers can put in before they’re paid overtime has been put on hold.
The Citizen quotes State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon as saying the next hearings of the farm laborers wage board will be held in January. The Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act signed by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2019 set the threshold at 60 hours. Farm labor advocates almost immediately called for the standard to be 40 hours. Farm owners say 40 hours would create an economic burden. Some said they would be forced to move out of state.
The three members of the wage board are New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher, former New York State AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes and former Buffalo Urban League President and CEO Brenda McDuffie. The board held five public hearings in 2020, but did not reach a decision on the proposed change.
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