Enacts the farmworkers fair labor practices act, granting collective bargaining rights, workers' compensation and unemployment benefits to farmworkers

Section 2 of the bill amends section 2 of the labor law to define the term "farm labor."

Section 3 of the bill amends section 161 of the labor law to allow farm workers 24 consecutive hours of rest each week and to provide for payment of overtime for working on the day of rest.

Section 4 of the bill amends section 161 of the labor law to allow workers employed in dairies, creameries, and who care for live animals 24 hours of rest during each calendar week.

Section 5 of the bill establishes a new section 163-a of the labor law to establish an overtime rate for farm workers who work more than ten hours a day, sixty hours a week, or six days a week.

Section 6 of the bill amends section 564 of the labor law to change the unemployment insurance threshold to make farmworkers eligible for benefits if their employers paid at least $6250 in a calendar quarter. A new subdivision (2) is added to eliminate unemployment contributions by employers for farm workers who are ineligible for benefits under the federal unemployment tax act.

Section 7 of the bill amends section 674 of the labor law to exclude the subminimum wage for underage farm workers.

Section 8 of the bill amends section 701 of the labor law to provide collective bargaining rights to workers of a farm employer with gross sales of at least $650,000 during the previous calendar year.

Section 9 of the bill adds a new section 704-a to the labor law to require a 21-day cooling off period between certain farm employers and employees before they use a work stoppage or lockout to settle a labor dispute.

Section 10 of the bill establishes an advisory committee on agricultural collective bargaining to report to the legislature and governor by March 31, 2010 with recommendations to implement collective bargaining procedures, and to foster labor-management cooperation and dispute resolution between farm employers and farm workers.

Section 11 of the bill amends section 225 of the public health law to expand the application of the state sanitary code to farm worker housing occupied by less than five migrant workers.

Section 12 of the bill amends section 51 of the workers' compensation law to require the posting of notice of workers' compensation insurance in English and Spanish, and to increase the penalty from $250 to $500 for failure to post such notice.

Section 13 of the bill adds a new section 110-b to the workers' compensation law to require foremen who receive notice of an injury to a worker suffered in the course of farm employment to inform the employer of the injury.

Section 14 of the bill amends the section 120 of the workers' compensation law to make it unlawful to discharge an employee for requesting a claim form relating to injuries incurred in the course of employment.

Section 15 of the bill amends section 201 of the workers' compensation law to provide disability insurance coverage to farm workers.

Section 16 of the bill adds a new section to protect the rights of farm workers established under a collective bargaining agreement.

Section 17 of the bill establishes the effective dates of the rights established under the act.

Existing law

Section 161 of the labor law excludes farm workers from the right to a day of rest.

The fair labor standards act, 29 U.S.C. section 213, excludes farm workers from the right to overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hours a week.

Section 564 of the labor law excludes farm workers from eligibility for unemployment benefits unless their employer pays at least $20,000 in cash renumeration during a calendar quarter.

Section 674 of the labor law allows underage farm workers to be paid less than the minimum wage rate.

Section 701 of the labor law excludes farm workers from the right to collective bargaining.

Section 225 of the public health law exempts the application of the state sanitary code to housing for migrant farm workers occupied by less than five persons.

Section 51 of the workers' compensation law establishes a fine of up to $250 for failure to post notice of workers' compensation insurance.

Section 201(6) (A) of the workers' compensation law excludes farm workers from the right to disability insurance.

Justification

Farm workers perform essential services for New York's agricultural industry which ranks near the top nationally in dairy, apples, vegetables, grapes, floriculture and other products. Farm work is labor intensive that involves arduous tasks, exposure to pesticides, and long hours. Farm workers frequently suffer physical injuries and illnesses in the course of their employment, often beyond that suffered by workers in other industries. It is unjust that the labor protections provided to other workers in New York such as a day of rest, overtime pay, disability insurance, unemployment benefits and collective bargaining have been denied to farm workers for decades. This legislation would grant farm workers the basic labor rights long enjoyed by other public and private employees in our State.

Prior legislative history

2009: S.2247 Reported from Labor to Codes; A.1867 Passed Assembly 2008: S.3884 Reported from Labor to Rules; A.7528 Advanced to 3rd reading

Fiscal implications

None to the State.

Effective date

The Act shall take effect thirty days after enactment except that section fourteen shall take effect within 180 days after enactment, section five shall take effect on January 1, 2011, and sections eight and nine shall take effect on July 1, 2011.