NYS labor commissioner decides to lower farm overtime threshold

ALBANY, N.Y. There has been more reaction to the decision for farm worker overtime in New York state.

The Department of Labor commissioner lowered the overtime threshold for farm workers from 60 to 40 hours per week. It will be phased in over the next 10 years.

Supporters of this change say farm workers deserve the same overtime rules as everyone else and have been robbed of overtime pay for decades. Opponents say it will destroy already struggling family farms in New York. State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt released this statement:

“It is clear Albany’s one-party ruling class doesn’t care about family farms and seems hell-bent on destroying agriculture in New York state.  This is nothing short of a scheduled collapse of New York’s agricultural industry.”