New York Farm Bureau issued the following news alert on August 21, 2020…
NYS Department of Labor Announces Wage Board Virtual Hearings
New York Farm Bureau received word today that the Farm Laborer Wage Board hearings will resume virtually starting next week. Under the recently passed Farm Laborers Fair Practices Act, the Commissioner of Labor is required to convene a farm laborers wage board to make recommendations to overtime work and if the 60 hour per week threshold for overtime should be lowered. The wage board consists of the following members.
- David Fisher, President of New York Farm Bureau
- Denis Hughes, former President of the New York State AFL-CIO
- Brenda McDuffie, President of the Buffalo Urban League
These hearings began publicly in February and were set to be held across New York State but were put on hold due to COVID-19. They will now reconvene virtually on the following dates:
- Wednesday, August 26 at 6 p.m.
- Thursday, August 27 at 12 noon
- Monday, August 31 at 12 noon
We are encouraging our members to testify in order to inform the wage board about how the current overtime threshold has impacted their farms and how further reducing the hours of work would affect their employees and food production. If you previously submitted testimony, you can submit written amendments in light of the pandemic’s impacts.
Register here in English and here in Spanish.
Click here to read a NYFB prepared document to help you organize your thoughts and virtual testimony. Also, if you invite your employees to participate, click here for do’s don’ts when discussing this with them.
If an individual cannot attend any of the wage board virtual hearings, but still wants to have their voice heard, they can submit testimony to wageboard@labor.ny.gov
For more information about the wage board and the law visit the DOL website.
