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A03822 Summary:

BILL NOA03822A
 
SAME ASSAME AS S02690-A
 
SPONSORTague
 
COSPNSRBlankenbush, Fitzpatrick, Manktelow, Norris, Brown K, Brabenec, Gallahan, Walczyk, Byrnes, Morinello, Smullen, Angelino, McDonough, Montesano, Mikulin, Lemondes, Goodell
 
MLTSPNSRWalsh
 
Amd §674-a, Lab L
 
Amends provisions related to the farm laborers wage board, including how many times they must meet each year and additional considerations the wage board shall make when making a report to the governor and the legislature.
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A03822 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         3822--A
 
                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 28, 2021
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  TAGUE,  BLANKENBUSH, FITZPATRICK, MANKTELOW,
          NORRIS, BROWN, BRABENEC, GALLAHAN, WALCZYK, BYRNES,  MORINELLO,  SMUL-
          LEN,  ANGELINO,  McDONOUGH,  MONTESANO,  MIKULIN, LEMONDES, GOODELL --
          Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. WALSH -- read once and referred to  the
          Committee  on  Labor  --  committee  discharged, bill amended, ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to  the  farm  laborers  wage
          board
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Section 674-a of the labor law, as added by chapter 105  of
     2  the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  674-a.  Farm  laborers  wage board. 1. Wage board. The commissioner
     4  shall hereby convene a farm laborers wage board. The wage board shall be
     5  comprised of three members: one representative of the farm  bureau,  one
     6  representative of the New York State AFL-CIO and one member appointed by
     7  the  commissioner,  who  shall  be  selected from the general public and
     8  designated as chairperson. The wage board shall hold its  first  hearing
     9  no later than March first, two thousand twenty. The members of the board
    10  shall  not  receive  a  salary  or other compensation, but shall be paid
    11  actual and necessary traveling expenses while engaged in the performance
    12  of their duties.
    13    2. Organization. Two-thirds of the members of the board shall  consti-
    14  tute  a  quorum.  The  chairperson may from time to time formulate rules
    15  governing the manner in which the wage board shall function and  perform
    16  its duties under this article.
    17    3. Powers. The wage board shall have power to conduct public hearings.
    18  The  board [may] shall also consult with agricultural employers and farm
    19  laborers, and their respective representatives,  in  the  occupation  or
    20  occupations involved, and with such other persons, including the commis-
    21  sioner  and  the  commissioner  of agriculture and markets, the New York

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04780-06-1

        A. 3822--A                          2
 
     1  state college of agriculture and life sciences at Cornell university, as
     2  it shall determine. The board shall also have power to administer  oaths
     3  and  to  require  by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses,
     4  and the production of all books, records, and other evidence relative to
     5  any  matters under inquiry. Such subpoenas shall be signed and issued by
     6  the chairperson of the board and shall  be  served  and  have  the  same
     7  effect as if issued out of the supreme court. The board shall have power
     8  to  cause  depositions of witnesses residing within or without the state
     9  to be taken in the manner  prescribed  for  like  depositions  in  civil
    10  actions in the supreme court. The board shall not be bound by common law
    11  or statutory rules of procedure or evidence.
    12    4.  Public  hearings. Within forty-five days of the appointment of the
    13  wage board, the board shall conduct  public  hearings.  The  wage  board
    14  shall  only  meet within the state and must hold at least three hearings
    15  in two thousand twenty-two and at least two hearings each  year  in  two
    16  thousand  twenty-three  through  two  thousand twenty-five, at which the
    17  public will be afforded an opportunity to provide comments.    At  least
    18  one Spanish language interpreter shall be present at each public hearing
    19  to  interpret  oral  testimony  delivered  in  Spanish.  Where a witness
    20  reveals the need for an interpreter in a language other than Spanish, to
    21  the extent  practicable,  an  interpreter  in  that  language  shall  be
    22  provided.  Any materials advertising such hearings shall be bilingual in
    23  English and Spanish. Any written materials disbursed at the  hearing  or
    24  subsequent to the hearing, including written testimony and hearing tran-
    25  scripts,  shall  be  available  in  English, Spanish, and, to the extent
    26  practicable, any other language upon request.
    27    5. Report. The wage board shall make a report to the governor and  the
    28  legislature,  including its recommendations as to overtime work for farm
    29  laborers. The report and recommendations of the board shall be submitted
    30  only after a vote of not less than a majority  of  all  its  members  in
    31  support of such report and recommendations. Such report shall be submit-
    32  ted  no  later than December thirty-first, two thousand [twenty] twenty-
    33  five. The overtime rates recommended by the wage board shall not  be  in
    34  excess  of  sixty  hours, and the wage board shall specifically consider
    35  the extent to which overtime hours can be lowered below such amount  set
    36  in law, and may provide for a series of successively lower overtime work
    37  thresholds and phase-in dates as part of its determinations.
    38    6. The wage board shall consider:
    39    (a)  existing  overtime  rates in similarly situated industries in New
    40  York state;
    41    (b) farm laborer wage and  overtime  rates  in  states  that  share  a
    42  geographical border with New York;
    43    (c)  the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the agricultural
    44  community, including additional expenses borne by employers;
    45    (d) the total compensation, including other benefits such  as  housing
    46  or  insurance, that farm laborers receive relative to similarly situated
    47  industries;
    48    (e) statistics that show various labor  requirements  amongst  various
    49  farming  subindustries,  including  but not limited to, animal, crop, or
    50  aquafarming;
    51    (f) the supply and demand of farm laborers in New York; and
    52    (g) the labor and employment actions taken by farm labor employers  in
    53  response  to  chapter one hundred five of the laws of two thousand nine-
    54  teen, and other economic impacts, which shall include, but not be limit-
    55  ed to, the costs of fuel and the costs associated  with  complying  with
    56  chapter one hundred six of the laws of two thousand nineteen.

        A. 3822--A                          3
 
     1    7.  Nothing  contained  in  the wage board's report or recommendations
     2  shall diminish or limit any rights, protections,  benefits  or  entitle-
     3  ments currently available to any farm laborer.
     4    [7.  The]  8.  Notwithstanding  any inconsistent provision of law, the
     5  commissioner shall comply with section six  hundred  fifty-six  of  this
     6  chapter  no sooner than one hundred eighty days upon receipt of the wage
     7  board's recommendations. [The commissioner may reconvene the same]  Upon
     8  a  determination  by  the  wage  board [or appoint a new], such decision
     9  shall be final and the  wage  board  [in  compliance  with  section  six
    10  hundred fifty-nine of this chapter] shall be dissolved. The commissioner
    11  shall  not  reconvene  the  wage board unless authorized by a subsequent
    12  chapter of law.
    13    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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