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History
- Referred to labor
- Reported and committed to codes
- Referred to labor
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to allowing farm workers one day of rest each week, mandating the use of farm labor work agreements and requiring an overtime rate
Purpose
To provide farm workers with the right to a day of rest and overtime, and conform unemployment contribution requirements to federal law.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill amends Labor Law section 161(1) to allow every farm worker 24 hours of rest each week, which may include 24 hours spent at rest due to weather or crop circumstances. Farm employers would be required to post notice of this right in a central posting area, and include the notice in a written work agreement. Any farm worker who works more than 40 hours in a week would be entitled to be paid wages at a rate of not less than one and one-half times the worker's normal hourly wage. This requirement would not apply to a parent, child, spouse, in-law or other member of the employer's immediate family.
Read the full memo (887 words)
Section 2 of the bill amends Labor Law section 679 by adding a new paragraph to require every farm employer to keep a true and accurate statement of the terms of an employment or work agreement, including the location of work, the type of work to be performed, the hours of a standard work week and day, notice of the voluntary 24 hours day of rest, any housing arrangements, the wage rate to be paid and any benefits to be provided, the period of employment, transportation arrangements, and name of the workers' compensation carrier. The Commissioner of Labor would provide a sample work agreement form in English and Spanish.
Section 3 of the bill amends Labor Law section 564 by creating a new subdivision to conform state law to federal law by eliminating the requirement that farm employers make contributions to the state Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund for workers who are admitted to the U.S. to perform agricultural labor under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act if they are excluded from the definition of employment under the federal unemployment law and are ineligible to receive unemployment benefits.
Existing law
The day of rest provision under section 161 of the Labor Law does not apply to farm workers.
Farm workers are excluded from the overtime requirement under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (29 use sec. 213) which requires workers to be paid at one and a half times their hourly wage rate for work in excess of 40 hours a week.
The Federal Unemployment Tax Act (26 use sec. 3306) does not allow farm workers who are aliens to collect unemployment benefits.
Justification
Farm workers have long been excluded from many basic labor rights under both federal and New York labor laws. In 1994, the Legislature held a joint public hearing to review the unequal labor protections between farm workers and other workers in the state. The hearing resulted in several recommendations to provide equal labor rights for farmworkers, including the right to a day of rest and overtime. Since then, the only equal right that has been enacted is a requirement that any increase in the state's minimum wage take effect at the same time for farm workers as all other workers.
Since then, farm workers have continued to provide essential services to New York's agricultural industry. For several years, the state has ranked 3rd nationally in milk production. The sales of many New York agricultural products also rank high nationally, including fruits and berries which rank 6th, and vegetables, melons and potatoes which rank 11th. The current hourly wage for field workers in New York is $10.65 an hour and $9.92 an hour for livestock workers. Their income is further limited by the seasonality of their employment, which for many is less than 12 months a year. Farmworkers also suffer many work-related illnesses as a result of exposure to toxic substances such as pesticides, musco-skeletal strain, and other work conditions, but they have no health benefits.
This legislation would provide farm workers with the same right to a day of rest enjoyed by other workers, which is intended to protect the health and safety of employees. Allowing farm workers to take a voluntary day off would allow them to take care of medical and other personal needs.
The legislation would also provide farm workers with the same right to overtime as most other employees who work more than 40 hours a week. New York's farm workers work an average of 41.1 hours a week. Under the legislation, farm employers would save $800,000 annually by no longer having to pay state unemployment taxes for workers who are ineligible for unemployment benefits under the law.
The bill also requires a farm labor agreement to be signed. Often the terms of employment for farm workers are in a constant flux which puts them in a tough position. Requiring this labor agreement strengthens disclosure of labor rights and creates better working situations for farm laborers.
Legislative history
2007-2008: Similar bill A.3383 - Referred to Rules 2005: Similar bill S.5887/A.1993-A - Advanced to 3rd reading in both houses
Fiscal implications
None to the state.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.