FARMS. NBC 5'S KRYSTIN RAE IS IN PLATTSBURGH. WITH THE LATEST. Sot: Sam Dyer: SMR Dyer Farms <"PEOPLE COME TO THE COUNTER AND THEY ASK, "HOW COME THIS IS SO MUCH MONEY?" IT'S PRETTY SIMPLE, THIS IS HOW I PAY MYSELF AND I PAY MY HELP."> PRICES SEEM TO BE GOING UP EVERYWHERE. NORTH COUNTRY FARMER SAM DYER...SAYS HIS INDUSTRY IS FEELING IT TOO. FROM FUEL- TO FERTILIZER. AND SOON, PRODUCE FOR CONSUMERS. Sot: Assemblyman Billy Jones <"WE ARE GOING TO PAY THE PRICE IN THE NEAR FUTURE ON PRODUCTS BEING SOLD IN NY STATE, AND ALSO WITH OUR FARMERS THEMSELVES, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE A REDUCING IN FARMING HERE IN NY STATE AND IT'S JUST NOT FAIR."> ASSEMBLYMAN BILLY JONES JOINING OTHER REPRESENTATIVES THROUGHOUT NEW YORK ON TUESDAY. ASKING FOR A REVERSAL ON THE RECENT MOVE TO CHANGE HOW OVERTIME IS HANDLED ON FARMS. THE FARM LABORERS WAGE BOARD NOW SAYS FARMERS WILL HAVE TO PAY OVERTIME... STARTING AT 40 HOURS AND BEYOND. RIGHT NOW THAT THRESHOLD IS 60. THE MOVE WILL SLOWLY BE PHASED IN BY 2032. Sot: Sam Dyer: SMR Dyer Farms <"THE OVERTIME IS NOT GOING TO GO WHERE IT'S SUPPOSED TO GO. GOING TO GO IN THE HANDS OF THE EMPLOYEES WHO SHOULD BE GETTING IT."> DYER HAS TWO EMPLOYEES FROM JAMAICA WHO WORK FOR HIM DURING PARTS OF THE YEAR. HE SAYS THEIR SCHEDULING CHANGES ON A WEEKLY BASIS Sot: Sam Dyer: SMR Dyer Farms <"IF ITS RAINING OR WET, WE CANT HARVEST THAT CROP. BUT THEN, IF IT DOES TURN DRY FOR 2/3 DAYS... HOW DO WE CATCH UP? IT'S NOT A MATTER OF BACKING OFF A COUPLE OF HOURS HERE OR THERE."> THERE IS A CONCERN FROM SOME FARMERS THIS NEW RULING WILL WORK AGAINST SMALL, LOCAL FARMS. BUT- NEW FARM OWNERS MIKE CHAMPAGNE AND MARISA LENETSKY SAY IT TOOK THEM ALMOST A DECADE TO OPEN NORTH POINT COMMUNITY FARM IN PLATTSBURGH BECAUSE OF LOW WAGES Sot: Mike Champagne and Marisa Lenetsky: North Point Community Farm <"WE HAVE 8 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE OF WHAT IT'S LIKE BEING AN EMPLOYEE ON A FARM AND HAVING AN EXPECTATION THAT YOU'RE WORKING 60HRS. PER WEEK ON A FARM, AND A LOT OF THE REASON WHY WE WAITED SO LONG IS WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY TO START IT."> WHILE THE TWO DON'T HAVE ANY EMPLOYEES WORKING MUCH LONGER THAN 45 HOURS PER WEEK- THEY SAY THE NEW RULING MAY HAVE MORE OF AN IMPACT ON LARGER-SCALE FARMS WITH MORE WORKERS. THE FIRST PHASE OF THE TEN-YEAR RULING IS SET TO GO IN PLACE JANUARY 1ST OF 2024 WITH OVERTIME TO BE PAID FOR ANY WORK DONE OVER 56 HOUR
Lawmakers ask for farm wage ruling reversal
Come January 1st, 2024, farmers will have to pay their employees overtime for an hours worked over 56hrs. per week.
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Updated: 6:31 PM EDT Oct 4, 2022
Assemblyman Billy Jones joined other New York State representatives on Tuesday to ask for a reversal on the recent move to change how overtime is handled on farms.New York’s Department of Labor Commissioner announced on Friday, Sept. 30 that the state will be moving forward to lower the current 60-hour per week threshold for overtime pay to 40 hours per week by Jan. 1, 2032. Assemblyman Billy Jones voiced his concern over this new rule having an affect on the number of farm workers in the state. “Now, we have to compete for pricing, we have to compete for our workers now,” he said. “I think we have hurt the farm industry with this, I think we have hurt the workers in this decision.”NBC5 spoke with North Country farm owner, Sam Dyer, who is raising concerns over the intentions behind the ruling. “The concerns I’ve said all along, some of it is the limiting of the hours. But the overtime is not going to go where it’s supposed to go. I think it’s a tax for the Department of Labor to get their hands on more money, its’ not going to go in the hands of the employees who should be getting it,” Dyer said.Dyer and one of his employees, Peter, spent their Tuesday afternoon selling crops to the community off of Flynn Avenue in Plattsburgh.Peter is one of two employees Dyer has who come to the U.S. from Jamaica for parts of the year. Dyer says the work weeks are not consistent, which is another concern he has about the new ruling.“If its raining or wet, we can’t harvest that crop. But then, if it does turn dry for 2/3 day, how do we catch up? It’s not a matter of backing off a couple of hours here or there,” he said. New farm owners Mike Champagne and Marisa Lenetsky say it took them almost a decade to open North Point Community Farm in Plattsburgh because of low wages.“We have eight years of experience of what it’s like being an employee on a farm and having an expectation that you’re working 60 hours per week on a farm, and a lot of the reason why we waited so long is we just didn’t have the money to start it,” Lenetsky said. While the two don’t have any employees working much longer than 45 hours per week, they say the new ruling may have more of an impact on larger-scale farms with more workers.The first phase of the 10-year ruling is set to go in place on Jan. 1, 2024, with overtime to be paid for any work done over 56 hours per week.
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — Assemblyman Billy Jones joined other New York State representatives on Tuesday to ask for a reversal on the recent move to change how overtime is handled on farms.
New York’s Department of Labor Commissioner announced on Friday, Sept. 30 that the state will be moving forward to lower the current 60-hour per week threshold for overtime pay to 40 hours per week by Jan. 1, 2032.
Assemblyman Billy Jones voiced his concern over this new rule having an affect on the number of farm workers in the state.
“Now, we have to compete for pricing, we have to compete for our workers now,” he said. “I think we have hurt the farm industry with this, I think we have hurt the workers in this decision.”
NBC5 spoke with North Country farm owner, Sam Dyer, who is raising concerns over the intentions behind the ruling.
“The concerns I’ve said all along, some of it is the limiting of the hours. But the overtime is not going to go where it’s supposed to go. I think it’s a tax for the Department of Labor to get their hands on more money, its’ not going to go in the hands of the employees who should be getting it,” Dyer said.
Dyer and one of his employees, Peter, spent their Tuesday afternoon selling crops to the community off of Flynn Avenue in Plattsburgh.
Peter is one of two employees Dyer has who come to the U.S. from Jamaica for parts of the year.
Dyer says the work weeks are not consistent, which is another concern he has about the new ruling.
“If its raining or wet, we can’t harvest that crop. But then, if it does turn dry for 2/3 day, how do we catch up? It’s not a matter of backing off a couple of hours here or there,” he said.
New farm owners Mike Champagne and Marisa Lenetsky say it took them almost a decade to open North Point Community Farm in Plattsburgh because of low wages.
“We have eight years of experience of what it’s like being an employee on a farm and having an expectation that you’re working 60 hours per week on a farm, and a lot of the reason why we waited so long is we just didn’t have the money to start it,” Lenetsky said.
While the two don’t have any employees working much longer than 45 hours per week, they say the new ruling may have more of an impact on larger-scale farms with more workers.
The first phase of the 10-year ruling is set to go in place on Jan. 1, 2024, with overtime to be paid for any work done over 56 hours per week.
