New York farm workers are one step closer to getting paid overtime after 40 hours of work, but the chair of the state Assembly Agriculture Committee is not happy about the change.

The New York Farm Laborers Wage Board submitted its final report to the New York State Labor commissioner on Tuesday. Two of the three members of the board voted to gradually phase-in the 40-hour threshold, putting farm workers in line with every other category of U.S. worker. 

“We are calling on Washington to really help our farmers with immigration reform and also adjusting their 1930s-era wage rules,” Assemblymember Donna Lupardo told Capital Tonight. 

Lupardo was referring to the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, which created overtime rules and established the minimum wage, but excluded seasonal farm workers.

“While I certainly appreciate the need to right a wrong here in New York state, we have to look at what’s going on around us and other states in the region,” she explained.

One of those states is neighboring Pennsylvania, which still pays the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. In upstate New York, the minimum wage is $13.20 per hour. It will rise to $14.20 per hour in 2023. 

The response to the Wage Board’s report from farmers in New York and their supporters was unequivocal. They argue that even with an overtime tax credit that was negotiated in the last state budget, they will be at a competitive disadvantage with other states in the region, like Pennsylvania.

Lupardo agrees with them, saying that farmers are facing a litany of challenges right now including food supply chain issues, climate change and inflation. The change in the overtime threshold could further hurt farmers. 

Additionally, Lupardo is concerned that the tax credit that she helped negotiate isn’t sustainable. 

“I’m worried about the long-term sustainability of this. While the next adjustment doesn’t go into effect for another year or so, and it gets phased in over 10 years, it’s going to be pricey if we keep up this way.”

New York State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon has 45 days to review the Wage Board’s report and make it official. The first wage adjustment would go into effect in January 2024.

“Ideally, we would have kept it just the way it is while we’re sorting out these larger issues. In the meantime, we’re going to pay those farmers the difference,” Lupardo said. “But for how long can we keep it up? That’s the issue.”