Relates to the farmworkers fair labor practices act

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 of the bill entitles the bill "The Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act."

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 work- ers 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 farmworkers who work more than ten hours a day, fifty-five 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 bene- fits if their employers paid at least $6250 in a calendar quarter.

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-b 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 adds a new section 719 to the labor law to estab- lish an advisory committee on collective bargaining between farm employ- ers and farm laborers.

Section 11 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 12 of the hill adds a new section 110-b to the workers' compen- sation law to require foremen who receive notice of an injury to a work- er suffered in the course of farm employment to inform the employer of the injury.

Section 13 of the bill amends the section 120 of the workers' compen- sation law to make it unlawful to discharge an employee for requesting a claim form relating to injuries incurred in the course of employment.

Section 14 of the bill amends section 201 of the workers' compensation law to provide disability insurance coverage to farm workers.

Section 15 of the bill adds a new section to protect the rights of farm- workers established under a collective bargaining agreement.

Section 16 of the bill establishes the effective dates of the rights established under the act.

Existing law

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

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

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

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

Section 701 of the labor law excludes farmworkers 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 farmworkers 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 Farmworkers from the right to diSability insurance.

Justification

Farmworkers perform essential services for New York's agricultural industry which ranks near the top nationally in dairy, apples, vegeta- bles, grapes, floriculture and other products. Farm work is labor inten- sive that involves arduous tasks, exposure to pesticides, and long hours. Farmworkers 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, disabili- ty insurance, unemployment benefits and collective bargaining have been denied to farmworkers 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

New Bill.

Fiscal implications

None to the State.

Effective date

This act shall take effect upon enactment, provided that section fifteen of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law, and provided further, that sections five, eight and nine of this act shall take effect January 1, 2011.