Overtime Pay Impact on New York Apple Growers

A bill has been introduced in the New York Senate that would grant farm workers collective bargaining rights and overtime pay among other things. Given the debate that is happening over this bill, it’s a great time to look back at some previous research. In 2015, Matt Wells and Jennifer Ifft of Cornell University analyzed the impact of labor law changes on the apple industry in “The Impact of New York’s Minimum Wage Rules and Overtime on New York Apple Growers.”

Their analysis points out that paying overtime “will put many farms in a perilous financial position.” They also mention that farmers, finding themselves unable to afford overtime, are likely to take steps to limit the weekly work hours of employees in order to avoid paying overtime. That has the potential to decrease workers’ income, a consequence that many farm workers will not appreciate.

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By Richard Stup, Cornell University. Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution.
The post Overtime Pay Impact on New York Apple Growers appeared first on Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development.

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