ALBANY, New York (WWNY) – The New York Farm Laborer Wage Board rushed to a decision on overtime, according to one of its three members.
On Friday, the board voted 2-1 in favor of farm workers collecting OT after 40 hours a week. Right now, it’s 60.
One of the board’s members is David Fisher, who is also president of the New York Farm Bureau. Fisher says 70 percent of the testimony the board heard was in favor of keeping the 60 hour a week threshold.
“The wage board wanted to hear from everyone. But, we know more than a dozen videos were never aired. In the end, the decision made with little deliberation or time to reflect and review the testimony to come up with a thoughtful resolution. I would have hoped they would have considered more of the impact before a rush to a decision,” Fisher.
The farm bureau is asking Governor Hochul to find an alternative to the wage board’s recommendation.
Under the board’s decision, the move from 60 hours to 40 would be phased in over 10 years with reductions of 4 hours every 2 years.
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