STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3129
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 23, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. ORTT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to collective bargaining
rights to farm laborers; to amend the public health law, in relation
to the application of the sanitary code to all farm and food process-
ing labor camps for migrant workers; to amend the workers' compen-
sation law in relation to the eligibility of farm laborers for work-
ers' compensation benefits and in relation to service as farm
laborers; to amend the labor law, in relation to labor on a farm; to
repeal sections 1, 2, 24 and 25 of chapter 105 of the laws of 2019
relating to farm laborers; and repealing certain provisions of the
labor law and the workers' compensation law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Sections 1, 2 and 24 of chapter 105 of the laws of 2019,
2 relating to farm laborers, are REPEALED.
3 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 701 of the labor law,
4 as amended by chapter 105 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as
5 follows:
6 (a) The term "employees" includes but is not restricted to any indi-
7 vidual employed by a labor organization; any individual whose employment
8 has ceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, any current labor
9 dispute or because of any unfair labor practice, and who has not
10 obtained any other regular and substantially equivalent employment; and
11 shall not be limited to the employees of a particular employer, unless
12 the article explicitly states otherwise, but shall not include any indi-
13 vidual employed by [his] their parent or spouse or in the domestic
14 service of and directly employed, controlled and paid by any person in
15 [his] their home, any individual whose primary responsibility is the
16 care of a minor child or children and/or someone who lives in the home
17 of a person for the purpose of serving as a companion to a sick, conva-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07036-01-5
S. 3129 2
1 lescing or elderly person or any individuals employed only for the dura-
2 tion of a labor dispute, or any individuals employed as farm laborers
3 or, any individual who participates in and receives rehabilitative or
4 therapeutic services in a charitable non-profit rehabilitation facility
5 or sheltered workshop or any individual employed in a charitable non-
6 profit rehabilitation facility or sheltered workshop who has received
7 rehabilitative or therapeutic services and whose capacity to perform the
8 work for which [he] such individual is engaged is substantially impaired
9 by physical or mental deficiency or injury.
10 § 3. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 of section 701 of the labor law is
11 REPEALED.
12 § 4. The closing paragraph of subdivision 1 of section 161 of the
13 labor law is REPEALED.
14 § 5. Paragraphs b and d of subdivision 2 of section 161 of the labor
15 law, as amended by chapter 105 of the laws of 2019, are amended to read
16 as follows:
17 b. Employees in dairies, creameries, milk condenseries, milk powder
18 factories, milk sugar factories, milk shipping stations, butter and
19 cheese factories, ice cream manufacturing plants and milk bottling
20 plants, where not more than seven persons are employed;
21 d. Employees whose duties include not more than three hours' work on
22 Sunday in setting sponges in bakeries, caring for live animals, main-
23 taining fires, or making necessary repairs to boilers or machinery.
24 § 6. Section 163-a of the labor law is REPEALED.
25 § 7. The opening paragraph of paragraph (a) of subdivision 6 of
26 section 511 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 105 of the laws of
27 2019, is amended to read as follows:
28 The term "employment" [includes] does not include agricultural labor
29 unless it is covered pursuant to section five hundred sixty-four of this
30 article. The term "agricultural labor" includes all service performed:
31 § 8. Section 564 of the labor law, as amended and subdivision 3 as
32 renumbered by chapter 105 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as
33 follows:
34 § 564. Agricultural labor [crew leaders]. 1. Coverage. (a) Notwith-
35 standing the provisions of section five hundred sixty of this title, an
36 employer of persons engaged in agricultural labor shall become liable
37 for contributions under this article if the employer:
38 (1) has paid cash remuneration of twenty thousand dollars or more in
39 any calendar quarter to persons employed in agricultural labor, and such
40 liability shall commence on the first day of such quarter, or
41 (2) has employed in agricultural labor ten or more persons on each of
42 twenty days during a calendar year or the preceding calendar year, each
43 day being in a different calendar week, and the liability shall in such
44 event commence on the first day of the calendar year, or
45 (3) is liable for the tax imposed under the federal unemployment tax
46 act as an employer of agricultural labor and the liability shall in such
47 event commence on the first day of the calendar quarter in such calendar
48 year when such employer first paid remuneration for agricultural labor
49 in this state.
50 (b) An employer who becomes liable for contributions under paragraph
51 (a) of this subdivision shall cease to be liable as of the first day of
52 a calendar quarter next following the filing of a written application
53 provided the commissioner finds that the employer:
54 (1) has not paid to persons employed in agricultural labor cash remun-
55 eration of twenty thousand dollars or more in any of the eight calendar
56 quarters preceding such day, and
S. 3129 3
1 (2) has not employed in agricultural labor ten or more persons on each
2 of twenty days during the current or the preceding calendar year, each
3 day being in a different week, and
4 (3) is not liable for the tax imposed under the federal unemployment
5 tax act as an employer of agricultural labor.
6 2. Crew leader. Whenever a person renders services as a member of a
7 crew which is paid and furnished by the crew leader to perform services
8 in agricultural labor for another employer, such other employer shall,
9 for the purpose of this article, be deemed to be the employer of such
10 person, unless:
11 [1.] (a) the crew leader holds a valid certificate of registration
12 under the federal farm labor contractor registration act of nineteen
13 hundred sixty-three or substantially all the members of the crew operate
14 or maintain tractors, mechanized harvesting or [crop dusting] cropdust-
15 ing machinery or any other mechanized equipment which is provided by the
16 crew leader, and
17 [2. Exclusion from coverage. For purposes of this section the term
18 "employment" shall not include services rendered by an individual who is
19 admitted to the United States to perform agricultural labor pursuant to
20 8 USC 1188 if, at the time such services are rendered, they are excluded
21 from the definition of employment in section 3306(c) of the Federal
22 Unemployment Tax Act.
23 3.] (b) the crew leader is not an employee of such other employer and
24 has not entered into a written agreement with such employer under which
25 [he] such crew leader is designated as an employee.
26 § 9. Paragraph (m) of subdivision 5 of section 225 of the public
27 health law, as amended by chapter 105 of the laws of 2019, is amended to
28 read as follows:
29 (m) require that application be made for a permit to operate a farm or
30 food processing labor camp as defined in the sanitary code; authorize
31 appropriate officers or agencies to issue such a permit when the appli-
32 cant is in compliance with the established regulations; prescribe stand-
33 ards for living quarters at farm and food processing labor camps,
34 including provisions for sanitary conditions; light, air, and safety;
35 protection from fire hazards; maintenance; and such other matters as may
36 be appropriate for security of life or health, provided however, that
37 the provisions of the sanitary code established pursuant to the
38 provisions hereof shall apply to all farm and food processing labor
39 camps intended to house migrant workers and which are occupied by five
40 or more persons. In the preparation of such regulations, the public
41 health and health planning council may request and shall receive techni-
42 cal assistance from the board of standards and appeals of the state
43 department of labor and the state building code commission. Such regu-
44 lation shall be enforced in the same manner as are other provisions of
45 the sanitary code;
46 § 10. Groups 14-a and 14-b of subdivision 1 of section 3 of the work-
47 ers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 105 of the laws of 2019,
48 are amended to read as follows:
49 Group 14-a. On and after January first, nineteen hundred sixty-two,
50 any other employment in a trade, business, or occupation carried on by
51 the employer for pecuniary gain in which one or more employees other
52 than farm laborers are employed.
53 Group 14-b. Employment as a farm laborer as provided herein. A farmer
54 shall provide coverage under this chapter for all farm laborers employed
55 during any part of the twelve consecutive months beginning April first
56 of any calendar year preceded by a calendar year in which the cash
S. 3129 4
1 remuneration paid to all farm laborers aggregated twelve hundred dollars
2 or more.
3 § 11. Section 51 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by chap-
4 ter 105 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
5 § 51. Posting of notice regarding compensation. Every employer who has
6 complied with section fifty of this article shall post and maintain in a
7 conspicuous place or places in and about [his] their place or places of
8 business typewritten or printed [in English and Spanish] notices in form
9 prescribed by the [chairman] chair, stating the fact that [he] such
10 employer has complied with all the rules and regulations of the [chair-
11 man] chair and the board and that [he has] they have secured the payment
12 of compensation to [his] their employees and their dependents in accord-
13 ance with the provisions of this chapter, but failure to post such
14 notice as [herein] provided in this section shall not in any way affect
15 the exclusiveness of the remedy provided for by section eleven of this
16 chapter. Every employer who owns or operates automotive or horse-drawn
17 vehicles and has no minimum staff of regular employees required to
18 report for work at an established place of business maintained by such
19 employer and every employer who is engaged in the business of moving
20 household goods or furniture shall post such notices in each and every
21 vehicle owned or operated by [him] them. Failure to post or maintain
22 such notice in any of said vehicles shall constitute presumptive
23 evidence that such employer has failed to secure the payment of compen-
24 sation. The [chairman] chair may require any employer to furnish a writ-
25 ten statement at any time showing the stock corporation, mutual corpo-
26 ration or reciprocal insurer in which such employer is insured or the
27 manner in which such employer has complied with any provision of this
28 chapter. Failure for a period of ten days to furnish such written state-
29 ment shall constitute presumptive evidence that such employer has
30 neglected or failed in respect of any of the matters so required. Any
31 employer who fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall
32 be required to pay to the board a fine of [five hundred] up to two
33 hundred fifty dollars for each violation, in addition to any other
34 penalties imposed by law to be deposited into the uninsured employers'
35 fund.
36 § 12. Section 110-b of the workers' compensation law is REPEALED.
37 § 13. The opening paragraph of section 120 of the workers' compen-
38 sation law, as amended by chapter 105 of the laws of 2019, is amended to
39 read as follows:
40 It shall be unlawful for any employer or [his or her] such employer's
41 duly authorized agent to discharge or fail to reinstate pursuant to
42 section two hundred three-b of this chapter, or in any other manner
43 discriminate against an employee as to [his or her] their employment
44 because such employee has claimed or attempted to claim compensation
45 from such employer, [requested a claim form for injuries received in the
46 course of employment,] or claimed or attempted to claim any benefits
47 provided under this chapter or because [he or she] such employee has
48 testified or is about to testify in a proceeding under this chapter and
49 no other valid reason is shown to exist for such action by the employer.
50 § 14. The opening paragraph of paragraph A of subdivision 6 of section
51 201 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 105 of the
52 laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
53 "Employment" means employment in any trade, business or occupation
54 carried on by an employer, except that the following shall not be deemed
55 employment under this article: services performed for the state, a
56 municipal corporation, local governmental agency, other political subdi-
S. 3129 5
1 vision or public authority; employment subject to the federal railroad
2 unemployment insurance act; service performed on or as an officer or
3 member of the crew of a vessel on the navigable water of the United
4 States or outside the United States; service as farm laborers; casual
5 employment and the first forty-five days of extra employment of employ-
6 ees not regularly in employment as otherwise defined [herein] in this
7 section; service as golf caddies; and service during all or any part of
8 the school year or regular vacation periods as a part-time worker of any
9 person actually in regular attendance during the day time as a student
10 in an elementary or secondary school. The term "employment" shall
11 include domestic or personal work in a private home. The term "employ-
12 ment" shall not include the services of a licensed real estate broker or
13 sales associate if it be proven that (a) substantially all of the remun-
14 eration (whether or not paid in cash) for the services performed by such
15 broker or sales associate is directly related to sales or other output
16 (including the performance of services) rather than to the number of
17 hours worked; (b) the services performed by the broker or sales associ-
18 ate are performed pursuant to a written contract executed between such
19 broker or sales associate and the person for whom the services are
20 performed within the past twelve to fifteen months; and (c) the written
21 contract provided for in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph was not
22 executed under duress and contains the following provisions:
23 § 15. The opening paragraph of subdivision 5 of section 651 of the
24 labor law, as amended by chapter 391 of the laws of 2024, is amended to
25 read as follows:
26 "Employee" includes any individual employed or permitted to work by an
27 employer in any occupation, but shall not include any individual who is
28 employed or permitted to work: (a) on a casual basis in service as a
29 part time baby sitter in the home of the employer; (b) in a bona fide
30 executive, administrative, or professional capacity; (c) as an outside
31 salesman; (d) as a driver engaged in operating a taxicab; (e) as a
32 volunteer, learner or apprentice by a corporation, unincorporated asso-
33 ciation, community chest, fund or foundation organized and operated
34 exclusively for religious, charitable or educational purposes, no part
35 of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private share-
36 holder or individual; (f) as a member of a religious order, or as a duly
37 ordained, commissioned or licensed minister, priest or rabbi, or as a
38 sexton, or as a christian science reader; (g) in or for such a religious
39 or charitable institution, which work is incidental to or in return for
40 charitable aid conferred upon such individual and not under any express
41 contract of hire; (h) in or for such a religious, educational or chari-
42 table institution if such individual is a student; (i) in or for such a
43 religious, educational or charitable institution if the earning capacity
44 of such individual is impaired by age or by physical or mental deficien-
45 cy or injury; (j) in or for a summer camp or conference of such a reli-
46 gious, educational or charitable institution for not more than three
47 months annually; (k) as a staff counselor in a children's camp; (l) in
48 or for a college or university fraternity, sorority, student association
49 or faculty association, no part of the net earnings of which inures to
50 the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, and which is
51 recognized by such college or university, if such individual is a
52 student; (m) by a federal, state or municipal government or political
53 subdivision thereof; (n) as a volunteer at a recreational or amusement
54 event run by a business that operates such events, provided that no
55 single such event lasts longer than eight consecutive days and no more
56 than one such event concerning substantially the same subject matter
S. 3129 6
1 occurs in any calendar year, where (1) any such volunteer shall be at
2 least eighteen years of age, (2) a business seeking coverage under this
3 paragraph shall notify every volunteer in writing, in language accepta-
4 ble to the commissioner, that by volunteering [his or her] their
5 services, such volunteer is waiving [his or her] their right to receive
6 the minimum wage pursuant to this article, and (3) such notice shall be
7 signed and dated by a representative of the business and the volunteer
8 and kept on file by the business for thirty-six months; (o) in the
9 delivery of newspapers or shopping news to the consumer by a person who
10 is not performing commercial goods transportation services for a commer-
11 cial goods transportation contractor within the meaning of article twen-
12 ty-five-C of this chapter; [or] (p) having entered into a contract to
13 play baseball at the minor league level and who is compensated pursuant
14 to the terms of a collective bargaining agreement that expressly
15 provides for the wages, hours of work, and working conditions of employ-
16 ees; or (q) in labor on a farm. The exclusions from the term "employee"
17 contained in this subdivision shall be as defined by regulations of the
18 commissioner.
19 § 16. Subdivision 1 of section 674 of the labor law, as amended by
20 chapter 105 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
21 1. The commissioner may promulgate such regulations as [he deems] they
22 deem appropriate to carry out the purposes of this article and to safe-
23 guard minimum wage standards. Such regulations may include, but are not
24 limited to, the defining of the circumstances or conditions for the
25 acceptance of non-hourly rates and piece rates as equivalent to the
26 minimum hourly rates established by this article. Such regulations also
27 may include, but are not limited to, waiting time and call-in pay rates;
28 wage provisions governing guaranteed earnings during specified periods
29 of work; allowances for meals, lodging, and other items, services and
30 facilities when furnished by the employer; and the employment of indi-
31 viduals whose earning capacity is affected or impaired by youth or age,
32 or by physical or mental deficiency or injury, under special certif-
33 icates issued by the commissioner, at such wages lower than the minimum
34 wage established by this article and for such period as shall be
35 prescribed in such regulations.
36 § 17. Subdivision 2 of section 701 of the labor law, as amended by
37 chapter 105 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
38 2. [(a)] The term "employer" includes any person acting on behalf of
39 or in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly, with or with-
40 out [his] their knowledge, and shall include any person who is the
41 purchaser of services performed by a person described in paragraph (b)
42 of subdivision three of this section, but a labor organization or any
43 officer or agent thereof shall only be considered an employer with
44 respect to individuals employed by such organization.
45 [(b) The term "employer" includes agricultural employers. The term
46 "agricultural employer" shall mean any employer engaged in cultivating
47 the soil or in raising or harvesting any agricultural or horticultural
48 commodity including custom harvesting operators, and employers engaged
49 in the business of crops, livestock and livestock products as defined in
50 section three hundred one of the agriculture and markets law, or other
51 similar agricultural enterprises.]
52 § 18. The closing paragraph of section 703 of the labor law is
53 REPEALED.
54 § 19. Section 704-b of the labor law is REPEALED.
55 § 20. Subdivision 1-a of section 705 of the labor law is REPEALED.
56 § 21. Section 702-b of the labor law is REPEALED.
S. 3129 7
1 § 22. Section 674-a of the labor law is REPEALED.
2 § 23. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdi-
3 vision, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
4 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
5 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
6 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
7 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
8 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
9 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
10 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
11 § 24. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
12 have been in full force and effect on and after January 1, 2022.
