BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This Week

The state Labor Commission’s controversial new policy which will ultimately limit the farm overtime pay threshold to 40 hours a week over time started to be phased in on Jan. 1.

When it was announced, the move was widely panned and criticized by local state representatives, the president of the Farm Bureau, and St. Lawrence County’s representative in Congress, Rep. Elise Stefanik. All predict that the new policy will make the cost of labor on small family farms unsustainable and ultimately cripple the industry at that level.

“This is a difficult day for all those who care about New York being able to feed itself,” said Madrid farmer David Fisher, president of the New York Farm Bureau, in an earlier statement in September 2022. “Commissioner Reardon’s decision to lower the farm labor overtime threshold will make it even tougher to farm in this state and will be a financial blow to the workers we all support.

“Moving forward, farms will be forced to make difficult decisions on what they grow, the available hours they can provide to their employees, and their ability to compete in the marketplace. All of this was highlighted in the testimony and data that the wage board report and the commissioner simply ignored,” Fisher said.

The New York State Department of Labor issued a statement Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 reminding New Yorkers that the phased-in reduction in the overtime pay threshold for farm workers will begin on January 1, 2024, with the threshold set at 56 hours per week.

The process will continue with the overtime threshold limit being reduced by four hours every other year until reaching 40 hours per week in 2032.

This process was officially adopted in February 2023 following Labor Commissioner Roberta  Reardon’s order that adopted the Farm Laborers Wage Board’s report and recommendations in September 2022.

"Introducing a phased transition allows farmers the necessary time for adjustments while protecting the farm workers who are a huge part of putting food on New Yorkers tables,” Reardon claimed. “These regulations reinforce New York State's ongoing dedication to its workers.”

However, the region’s state and federal representatives have not bought into Reardon’s argument.

Stefanik issued a statement in February 2023 slamming the move after the policy was officially adopted.

"Albany Democrats have ignored the concerns of farmers across New York State by adopting regulations to lower the overtime threshold, which jeopardizes the future of New York's agriculture industry and will put thousands of farm laborers out of work,” Stefanik said. “This out of touch decision makes New York less competitive and will exacerbate the existing labor shortage our farmers are already facing. Upstate New York and the North Country are home to thousands of dairy farmers, apple growers, and maple producers, who work tirelessly to provide for our communities, but are now forced to bear the burden of another wrong decision made in Albany. While Albany Democrats prove their priorities are not for Upstate, I will always support our farmers, because I understand: No farms, no food."

State Senator Mark Walczyk, who represents farmers in St. Lawrence County in the 49th Senate District, was similarly critical at the time.

“This initiative puts large agricultural operations on an uneven playing field and may serve as a benchmark for the beginning of the end for small family farms,” Walczyk said.

“Additionally, these added expenditures are all but guaranteed to fall back on the consumer. Farms are already finding themselves in the midst of severe working shortages with overtime being utilized at its current threshold. By lowering that number to 40 hours, costs to operate a farm are going to drastically increase along with the costs to put that food on your table,” Walczyk said.

State Sen. Dan Stec, who represents county farms in the 45th district, delivered an equally withering critique.

“Between the fallout from the pandemic and continually rising costs, our family farms have faced tremendous economic difficulties. The decision from the Department of Labor to lower the overtime threshold beginning in 2024 only exacerbates these conditions. The fact that this decision comes after widespread opposition from farmers and farm workers alike makes it even more concerning.

“For years, our state has been a leader in agriculture. This decision will put that status in jeopardy, as it will be harder than ever for farmers to find and keep workers,” Stec said. “These workers are now more free to seek better hours and wages in other states. This will also make it more difficult for farms to produce the healthy, quality foods that New Yorkers purchase each day and lead to a rise in costs on these products as well.

“If New York State wants to be an economic leader, we must stop enacting policies like these that stifle our businesses’ abilities to grow, develop and produce the goods and services we rely on each day,” said the Senator when the policy was adopted last February.