Expanding overtime for farmworkers to kick in at 40 hours a week could help broaden the labor pool of agriculture workers in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday said.
The pending decision to lower the overtime threshold from 60 hours a week to 40 is not expected to be made for several weeks by state Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon. But Hochul on Wednesday in a news conference said there would be benefits in doing so.
"If someone is now going to be paid for their overtime hours, why would they not want to come to New York state to work and receive a much higher compensation than they would in these other states?" Hochul said. "This gives a dramatic advantage in our efforts to bring farm workers to New York state. They're still going to work a long day, that's how the season works. But they're going to be paid for every penny that they're not used to in other states."
A board at the state Department of Labor earlier this month advanced the proposal, which would also include a subsidy meant to offset the cost of the lower overtime for farmers.
Advocates have argued the change will finally include agriculture workers who were excluded from federal labor protections for nearly a century. But opponents, including farmers and Republican lawmakers, have said the overtime change does not reflect the realities of working on a farm and the financial struggles producers are facing.
State and federal agriculture officials on Tuesday sidestepped the question of the overtime threshold change. But U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, speaking in Saratoga Springs, said he is pushing for changes to the federal temporary worker program in order to expand the labor pool.
Hochul on Wednesday added she wants the state's agriculture industry to be strong in order to help with supply chain resiliency, framing it as a national security concern. But in a tight labor market, paying workers more money could be a boon, she said.
"They'll be compensated, but that extra cost will be absorbed by the state of New York," she said.