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Commercial drivers for farms must have some English-language skills

New York Farm Bureau (NYFB) recently published an important notice about how federal regulations governing commercial vehicles driven for farms are interpreted. The NYFB message is re-posted completely below.

UPDATE: English Proficiency CMV Out-of-Service

On May 20, 2025, the Federal Motor Carrier Administration issued a memo on agency enforcement of English proficiency for Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) drivers. This memo clarified a long-standing regulation (in place prior to 2005) that states:

“a person is qualified to drive a motor vehicle if he/she…(2) Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records;…” 49 CFR § 391.11(b)(2)

Pursuant to the regulation, a driver who cannot meet the requirements as outlined above is not qualified to operate a CMV in interstate commerce. This rule applies to all CMV drivers regardless of whether they are farmers, H-2A workers, other farmworkers, or for-hire drivers.

NYS does not delineate interstate and intrastate for the purposes of applying the safety regulations, which now includes this English proficiency out-of-service. Thus, while the federal guidance says this applies to interstate commerce, in New York, it will apply to all drivers because the state adopts the federal motor carrier safety regulations and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) out-of-service criteria. In New York, this out-of-service will be applied to inter- and intrastate carriers.

This new procedure on placing drivers out-of-service for lack of English proficiency has been put out by the CVSA. CVSA is an organization made up of government and industry. The membership comes up with the criteria used in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada to place a driver or vehicle out of service. This promotes uniform application of the regulations and out-of-service criteria across the continent. You can read more about this directly from the CVSA, including guidance and information on the English language proficiency roadside assessment, here.

While farmers and their employees are granted many exemptions from certain CDL requirements in 49 CFR § 390.39 (e.g. controlled substance and alcohol use and testing, physical examinations, hours of service logs), there is no exemption for farmers or their employees, H2A or not, driving a covered farm vehicle from English proficiency requirements as cited above.

We understand this issue is of great concern to farmers. In response, NYFB and AFBF have met with USDOT to discuss this issue. We will continue to work with them.

Addressing Common Violations on Farms Webinar on July 9

Addressing Common Violations on Farms

Date: July 9
Time: 12:00 PM

Please join us for our next Ag Workforce Central Office Hour, our guests will be Mary Slattery (Director of the Division of Compliance and Education) and Reyna Morena (Deputy Director of the Division of Compliance and Education) from the NY State Department of Labor’s Division of Compliance and Education (DOCE). Mary and Reyna will share information about Common Employment Law Violations Found in New York Farms. Participants will have an opportunity to engage in a question and answer session with the panelists.

Registration is required to attend our webinars.

You will have the opportunity to submit questions in advance during registration.

Register now for the July 9th webinar

The Ag Workforce Central Virtual Office Hour is a webinar series that occurs every other month featuring Cornell experts and guest speakers on timely topics for the agricultural workforce. Virtual Office Hour offers participants the opportunity to access expert insights, practical strategies, and interactive discussions on topics such as regulatory compliance, leadership development, and fostering a culture of engagement within farm businesses. 

By Agricultural Workforce Development, Cornell University. Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution.

Immigration Resources for Farm Employees

The new presidential administration is clearly increasing immigration law enforcement. Farm employers are advised to get their work authorization procedures in order and prepare for possible workplace enforcement. Farm employees can also take steps to be sure that their rights are protected and that they have plans in place in case they become involved in enforcement actions. New York State Department of Labor recently shared a set of helpful resources for immigrants in multiple languages, linked below. While these resources were originally prepared for New York City, almost all of the content is relevant for people living and working in farms across the state.

It is critically important for immigrants with families or other dependents in the U.S. to have a plan in case of emergency, including immigration enforcement. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center provides an excellent collection of resources called the Step-by-Step Family Preparedness Plan. Find it here in Spanish: Plan de Preparación Familiar.

By Richard Stup, Cornell University. Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution.
The post Immigration Resources for Farm Employees appeared in The Ag Workforce Journal.

USDA Farm Labor Stabilization Program: $65 Million for Employers

USDA recently announced the Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection Pilot Program (FLSP), to distribute $65 million in the form of grants to employers to “improve the resiliency of the food and agricultural supply chain by addressing workforce challenges farmers and ranchers face.” FLSP touts three goals:

“Goal 1: Drive U.S. economic recovery and safeguard domestic food supply by addressing current labor shortages in agriculture;
Goal 2: Reduce irregular migration from Northern Central America through the expansion of regular pathways; and
Goal 3: Improve working conditions for all farmworkers.”

Important details of the program are available at the FLSP website, including  that eligible applicants include employers who have used or at least applied to use the H-2A program, and the application deadline is November 28, 2023. This program encourages employers to recruit H-2A workers from countries in northern Central America: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. For this grant application it is critical to read the notice of funding in detail. Don’t just rely on what you see on the website and press releases, download and read this 32-page document thoroughly!

Pages 8-11 of the notice of funding get into details of what will be expected of farm employers who successfully receive a grant. Baseline requirements for all successful awardees include: universal protections and benefits for all employees, not just those in H-2A; employer participation in research that includes access to employers’ full workforce by USDA and federal partners; and “know your rights and resources” training provided by “farmworker-trusted entities.” In addition to these baseline requirements, successful grant awardees will also need to make certain commitments about their employment practices in three areas:

  1. Responsible recruitment: efforts to recruit H-2A workers from northern Central America using government ministries.
  2. Pay, benefits, and working conditions: example can include overtime, bonus pay, paid sick leave, and collaborative employee-management working groups.
  3. Partnership agreements, such as: participation in a worker-driven social responsibility program, participation in a collective bargaining agreement (union), committing to neutrality, access, and voluntary recognition when employees indicate an interest in forming a union.

For some employers, these conditions and expectations of receiving between $25,000 and $2,000,000 in grant awards may be a good fit. For other employers, these conditions will be much too intrusive in exchange for any amount of money. Farm employers should read the notice of funding in detail and reflect carefully about how they wish to proceed with this program. But don’t reflect too long, applications are due November 28, 2023, it’s time to get working if you want to participate in this grant opportunity.

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Pregnancy and Maternity at Work

Recent changes to employment law at both the federal and New York state levels affect pregnancy and maternity at work. This topic comes up frequently with employers of all sizes and types so it’s good to review and update your policies and plans to support working mothers. Employers have three issues to consider:

  • accommodations for the pregnant employee while she is working,
  • leave time after the baby is born, and
  • assisting the nursing mother after she returns to work.

Accommodations for Pregnant Employees

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) is a new federal law that went into effect on June 27, 2023. The law applies to all employers with 15 or more employees, but it provides good guidelines that even smaller-sized employers should consider. Check out a webinar, poster, and a helpful infographic to learn more. The possible accommodations for a pregnant woman are reasonable for most employers and include items such as:

  • Being able to sit or drink water
  • Receiving closer parking
  • Having flexible hours
  • Receiving appropriately sized uniforms and safety apparel
  • Receiving additional break time to use the bathroom, eat, and rest
  • Taking leave or time off to recover from childbirth
  • Being excused from strenuous activities and/or exposure to chemicals not safe for pregnancy

Of course, this all depends on what exactly your employee does in her job. Get input from your employee about exactly what accommodations she needs.

Both federal law and New York law provide employment protections for pregnant employees. It is illegal to discriminate against a woman because she is pregnant.

Leave time

Employers in the U.S. with 50+ employees  have to follow the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA provides for up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave after a child is born, health benefits  maintained while the employee is away, and that employees must be able to return to the same or similar job, see the FMLA website for details. Smaller employers often follow the guidelines of FMLA for their family leave policies because it is increasingly a necessary part of a competitive benefits package.

Essentially all New York employers are required to provide paid family leave (PFL) for employees. New York’s PFL is an insurance program that employers and employees pay into, and this fund then pays out benefits to cover 67% of an employee’s average weekly wage when they take leave from work for a variety of reasons including bonding with a newborn child for up to 12 weeks. New York’s PFL also requires employers to allow employees to return to the same job after the leave, maintain health insurance during the leave, and prohibits discrimination or retaliation against employees for taking paid family leave.

Accommodation for Nursing Mothers

Once your employee returns to work, she is likely to be nursing for a while. Federal law includes the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act) which provides nursing employees the rights to receive break time to pump and a private place to pump at work. Further, the “Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for their nursing child for one year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk. Employees are entitled to a place to pump at work, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public.”

New York state law provides further protections for nursing mothers for breast milk expression in the workplace. This law applies to all New York employers. Please see the detailed factsheets on the NYS Department of Labor’s website for more information.

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By Richard Stup, Cornell University. Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution.
The post Pregnancy and Maternity at Work appeared in The Ag Workforce Journal 

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NY Farm Labor Survey…Only Two Weeks Left!

Farm employers, share your voice through the NY Farm Labor in Transition Survey. This is vital information to understand how the farm labor situation affects employers! Please take about 20-30 minutes of your time to include your response now, only two weeks remain! All data will be kept confidential, results will only be reported as group data, and no personally identifiable data will be reported. Respondents will receive a summary of the results. Prepare by assembling the following data from your payroll records:

  • The number of full-time, part-time, seasonal, and H-2A positions you employed in 2021 and 2022.
  • Total regular hours worked by all of your hired employees in 2021 and 2022.
  • Total overtime hours worked by all of your hired employees in 2021 and 2022.
  • Number of positions filled by owners and unpaid family members, and hours worked by them, in 2021 and 2022.
  • Number of employees who left voluntarily or were fired in 2021 and 2022.

Click the button to complete the survey now:

Thanks for doing your part to promote the NY Farm Labor in Transition Survey. This survey gives farm employers the chance to tell their farm labor story. Please ask your farm neighbors, clients, and customers to complete the survey for their farms. Your personal request goes a long way, and here are a few tools to support you:

Download a helpful flyer here: Farm Labor in Transition Survey Flyer.

Use the following QR code to give easy access for cell phones:QR code for survey

Thanks for you support!

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RESEARCH REPORT: How New York Farmers Adapted to 60-hour Overtime

New York farmers are putting much thought into adapting their businesses in response to the state’s farm labor overtime requirements. Cornell researchers are studying how farms adapted and continue to adapt to changing regulatory requirements and to an overall tight and competitive labor market. A multi-year project called “New York Farm Workforce in Transition” is currently underway with objectives to help farm employers adapt in ways that will support farm profitability, increase employee productivity, and encourage employee retention.

A new report is available that focuses on how New York farms adapted in  2020 as the first 60-hour overtime threshold was implemented for farm labor in the state. The report “How New York Farmers Adapted to New Farm Labor Overtime Requirements” explores the strategies that specialty crop and dairy farms used to respond to the regulation, and employer perceptions about how overtime affected employee recruiting and retention. Access the report here: How New York Farmers Adapted to New Farm Labor Overtime Requirements

More data and analysis from this research project will be published as it becomes available. Be sure to subscribe to the Ag Workforce Journal to get the latest updates, click the blue subscribe button near the bottom of the screen.

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New Resource! Example NY Employee Handbook

We’re introducing a new resource on Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development’s Employee Handbook page. We’ve posted an example employee handbook customized for New York farm employers. Starting with a Michigan State example from 2014, our team worked to develop an example farm employee handbook that New York farm employers can use either as a starting point to develop their own handbook or as a tool for comparison with an existing handbook. There was much to add, including information about sexual harassment prevention, sick leave, and other matters. We collaborated with Attorneys Michael Sciotti and Megan Bahas from the Barclay Damon firm in Syracuse to help make sure the handbook was current with existing laws. Of course, this example handbook is provided for educational purposes only, employers are responsible for ensuring that their handbook is compliant with state and federal laws and regulations.

To access the example:

  1. Click on Employee Handbook. This will open the file as a preview in the Box file storage site.
  2. Click the “Download” button in the upper right corner of the page.
  3. Typically, the downloaded file will appear at the bottom of your screen. You can then open the file, edit, and save on your computer.

When you commit to preparing and distributing a written employee handbook it’s important to follow through and implement policies consistently. You must also plan to update the handbook on a regular basis, at least annually, to make sure it is accurate and compliant with law. I’ve seen situations where an employer copied an old printed handbook for many years, unfortunately, legal changes in the course of time caused many of those written policies to be out of compliance with current law. The resources we provide can help you get started, but it’s always a good idea to have an employee handbook reviewed by appropriate legal counsel before putting it into effect.

Special thanks to Lucas Smith, a senior in Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Lucas has worked with our program for several years and he did a great deal of work on this project!

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Onboarding Webinar Series for Farm Employers: Starts Friday!

Safe, Productive and Engaged from Day One

Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development is offering a one-hour, three-session Onboarding Webinar Series via Zoom that targets farm employers and the educators and consultants who support them. Registration is free, but required. The series will be held from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM on January 21, and February 4 and 18. Register at tinyurl.com/AWOnboarding2022. This project is support by the New York Farm Viability Institute.

The first days and weeks on the job set the course for a new farm employee. Given the tight labor market, a successful onboarding program can be an essential tool to help reduce employee turnover, increase employee safety and productivity, and contribute to a farm’s success.

“A successful onboarding process begins with a well-planned orientation, training and compliance, and leads to improvements that benefit both the manager and employees throughout the relationship,” said Dr. Richard Stup, Cornell Agricultural Workforce Specialist.

The three-session Onboarding Zoom Series focuses on navigating employment requirements and improving human resource management practices, including enhancing training skills.

In the webinar series, the Cornell Agricultural Workforce team will share how to use onboarding materials, methods and templates. Established tools, including templates, training documentation, resources for employee records, and worksheets, are posted online at agworkforce.cals.cornell.edu. Each webinar includes a 20-minute presentation, followed by 15 to 20 minute breakout sessions, and finishes with a 15-minute general Q&A session.

Assigned “homework” between each session, completed with the support of a CCE educator or consultant, ensures participants exit the series with a personalized onboarding template, onboarding materials, trainings, and methods.

To sign up for this or future Onboarding projects, contact Lucas Smith (ls678@cornell.edu), Ag Workforce Development, or your local Cornell Cooperative Extension educator. Visit agworkforce.cals.cornell.edu/onboarding-webinar-series for more information about the webinar series. Visit agworkforce.cals.cornell.edu/onboarding/for more information about onboarding.

Successful projects have a staff member who focuses on HR a few hours each week.

A planned onboarding with orientation and training ensures compliance with basic regulations and policies; provides clarification on work procedures and expectations, and offers safety training; establishes a workplace culture based on values, philosophies and traditions; and creates connected relationships at work that allow employees to engage and thrive.

Benefits for Farms

  • Ensures compliance with basic regulations and policies.
  • Provides clarification on work procedures and expectations, which results in better employee performance and safety.
  • Establishes a workplace culture based on values, philosophies and traditions.
  • Creates connected relationships at work that allow employees to engage and thrive.
  • Increases employee commitment and reduces turnover.
  • Provides accessible and realistic support for farm onboarding, even when labor and time are in short supply.

Farmer Recommended

  • It makes the process better for both employer and employee. It improves compliance, safety, performance, and morale.
  • It helps keep hiring organized and gives a sense of professionalism.
  • It organized and standardized our system of. We are now more in compliance than ever.
  • This made me so much more confident as I go through the new hire process with employees. I got major bonus points on my FARM evaluation for the new employee training with my google classroom that I have set up!

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