NY State Senate Bill 2009-S8127

Senate Bill S8127

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Enacts the farmworkers fair labor practices act, granting collective bargaining rights, workers' compensation and unemployment benefits to farmworkers

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - Stricken

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 14, 2010	recommit, enacting clause stricken
Jun 10, 2010	referred to labor

co-Sponsors

2009-S8127 (ACTIVE) - Details

Law Section:: Labor Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§2, 161, 564 & 674, add §163-a, Lab L; amd §225, Pub Health L; amd §§51, 120 & 201, add §110-b, Work Comp L

2009-S8127 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the farmworkers fair labor practices act: requires employers of farm laborers to allow at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each week; provides for a 10 hour work day for farm laborers; requires overtime rate at one and one-half times normal rate; makes provisions of unemployment insurance law applicable to farm laborers

2009-S8127 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S8127

TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to allowing farmworkers one
day of rest each week, and including farm laborers within the provisions
pertaining to overtime compensation and unemployment insurance, and
regulating the farm employment of certain employees whose earning capac-
ity is affected or impaired by youth or age; to amend the public health
law, in relation to the application of the sanitary code to all farm and
food processing labor camps for migrant workers; and to amend the work-
ers' compensation law, in relation to the eligibility of farm laborers
for disability benefits and the provision of claim forms to farm labor-
ers injured in the course of employment and in relation to service as
farm laborers

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To establish the Farm workers Fair Labor practices Act.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill entitles the bill "The Farmworkers Fair Labor
Practices Act."

Section 2 of the bill amends section 2 of the labor law to define the
term "farm labor."

Section 3 of the bill amends section 161 of the labor law to allow farm-

workers 24 consecutive hours of rest each week and to provide for
payment of overtime for working on the day of rest.

Section 4 of the bill amends section 161 of the labor law to allow work-
ers employed in dairies, creameries, and who care for live animals 24
hours of rest during each calendar week.

Section 5 of the bill establishes a new section 163 -a of the labor law
to establish an overtime rate for farmworkers who work more than ten
hours a day, sixty hours a week, or six days a week.

Section 6 of the bill amends section 564 of the labor law to change the
unemployment insurance threshold to make farmworkers eligible for bene-
fits if their employers paid at least $6250 in a calendar quarter. A new
subdivision(2) is added to eliminate unemployment contributions by
employers for farmworkers who are ineligible for benefits under the
federal unemployment tax act.

Section 7 of the bill amends section 674 of the labor law to exclude the
subminimum wage for underage farm workers.

Section 8 of the bill amends section 225 of the public health law to
expand the application of the state sanitary code to farmworker housing
occupied by less than five migrant workers.

Section 9 of the bill amends section 51 of the workers' compensation law
to require the posting of notice of workers' compensation insurance in
English and Spanish:

Section 10 of the bill adds a new section 110-b to the workers' compen-
sation law to require foremen who receive notice of an injury to a work-
er suffered in the course of farm employment to inform the employer of
the injury.

Section 11 of the bill amends the section 120 of the workers' compen-
sation law to make it unlawful to discharge an employee for requesting a
claim form relating to injuries incurred in the course of employment.

Section 12 of the bill amends section 201 of the workers' compensation
law to provide disability insurance coverage to farm workers.

Section 13 of the bill adds a new section to protect the rights of farm-
workers established under a collective bargaining agreement.

Section 14 of the bill establishes the effective dates of the rights
established under the act.

EXISTING LAW:
Section 161 of the labor law excludes farmworkers from the right to a
day of rest.

The fair labor standards act, 29 U.S.C. section 213, excludes farmwork-
ers from the right to overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hours a
week.

Section 564 of the labor law excludes farmworkers from eligibility for
unemployment benefits unless their employer pays at least $20,000 in
cash remuneration during a calendar quarter.

Section 674 of the labor law allows underage farmworkers to be paid less
than the minimum wage rate.

Section 225 of the public health law exempts the application of the
state sanitary code to housing for migrant farmworkers occupied by less
than five persons.

Section 201(6)(A) of the workers' compensation law excludes farmworkers
from the right to disability insurance.

JUSTIFICATION:
Farmworkers perform essential services for New York's agricultural
industry which ranks near the top nationally in dairy, apples, vegeta-
bles, grapes, floriculture and other products. Farm work is labor inten-
sive that involves arduous tasks, exposure to pesticides, and long
hours. Farmworkers frequently suffer physical injuries and illnesses in
the course of their employment, often beyond that suffered by workers in
other industries. It is unjust that the labor protections provided to

other workers in New York that have been denied to farmworkers for
decades. This legislation would grant farmworkers the basic employment
rights long enjoyed by other public and private employees in our state.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2009: S.2247 Reported from Labor to Codes: A.1867 Passed Assembly
2008: S.3884 Reported from Labor to Rules: A.7528 Advanced to 3rd Read-
ing

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
April 1, 2011, except that section fourteen shall take effect within 180
days after enactment, section five shall take effect on January 1, 2012
and sections eight and nine shall take effect on April 1, 2011.

2009-S8127 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  8127

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 10, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sens. ESPADA, DIAZ -- 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 allowing  farmworkers  one
  day  of  rest  each  week,  and  including  farm  laborers  within the
  provisions pertaining to overtime compensation and unemployment insur-
  ance, and regulating the farm employment of  certain  employees  whose
  earning capacity is affected or impaired by youth or age; to amend the
  public health law, in relation to the application of the sanitary code
  to  all  farm and food processing labor camps for migrant workers; and
  to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to the eligibility
  of farm laborers for disability benefits and the  provision  of  claim
  forms  to  farm  laborers  injured  in the course of employment and in
  relation to service as farm laborers

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Farmwork-
ers Fair Labor Practices Act".
  S 2. Section 2 of the labor law is amended by adding a new subdivision
16 to read as follows:
  16. "FARM LABOR" SHALL INCLUDE ALL SERVICES PERFORMED IN  AGRICULTURAL
EMPLOYMENT  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  CULTIVATING THE SOIL, OR IN CONNECTION
WITH  RAISING  OR  HARVESTING  OF  AGRICULTURAL  COMMODITIES,  INCLUDING
SERVICES  PERFORMED ON ORCHARDS, PLANTATIONS, NURSERIES AND GREENHOUSES,
AND SHALL INCLUDE  THE  RAISING,  HATCHING,  SHEARING,  CARING  FOR  AND
MANAGEMENT  OF  LIVESTOCK, POULTRY, DAIRY, BEES AND FUR-BEARING ANIMALS,
AND SHALL INCLUDE THE HARVESTING OR PRODUCTION OF MAPLE SYRUP  OR  MAPLE
SUGAR, AND SHALL INCLUDE THE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF FARM EQUIPMENT
AND  IMPROVEMENT  OR  MAINTENANCE  OF  FARM  WATER  USE AREAS, AND SHALL
INCLUDE THE PLANTING, DRYING, PACKAGING OR OTHER PROCESSING OF ANY AGRI-
CULTURAL OR HORTICULTURAL COMMODITY RAISED ON THE EMPLOYER'S  FARM.  THE
TERM  "FARM  LABOR"  SHALL  NOT INCLUDE SERVICES PERFORMED IN CONNECTION
WITH COMMERCIAL CANNING, FREEZING, GRADING OR OTHER  PROCESSING  OF  ANY
AGRICULTURAL  OR  HORTICULTURAL  COMMODITY  NOT RAISED ON THE EMPLOYER'S
FARM. THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT APPLY TO THE PARENT, CHILD,  SPOUSE  OR

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

                                                           LBD17654-02-0

S. 8127                             2

OTHER  MEMBER  OF  THE  EMPLOYER'S FAMILY RELATED BY THE THIRD DEGREE OF
CONSANGUINITY OR AFFINITY.
  S  3.  Subdivision  1  of  section  161 of the labor law is amended by
adding a new undesignated paragraph to read as follows:
  EVERY PERSON EMPLOYED AS A FARM LABORER  SHALL  BE  ALLOWED  AT  LEAST
TWENTY-FOUR CONSECUTIVE HOURS OF REST IN EACH AND EVERY CALENDAR WEEK. A
FARM  LABORER MAY CONSENT IN WRITING TO WAIVE THIS RIGHT AND WORK ON THE
DAY OF REST, PROVIDED THAT HE OR SHE SHALL BE  PAID  AS  PROVIDED  UNDER
SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  SIXTY-THREE-A OF THIS TITLE. THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL
NOT APPLY TO THE PARENT, CHILD, SPOUSE OR OTHER MEMBER OF THE EMPLOYER'S
FAMILY RELATED BY THE THIRD DEGREE OF CONSANGUINITY OR  AFFINITY.  TWEN-
TY-FOUR  CONSECUTIVE  HOURS SPENT AT REST BECAUSE OF CIRCUMSTANCES, SUCH
AS WEATHER OR CROP CONDITIONS, SHALL BE DEEMED TO  CONSTITUTE  THE  REST
REQUIRED  BY  THIS  PARAGRAPH. THE DAY OF REST SHOULD BE THE SAME AS THE
TRADITIONAL DAY RESERVED BY THE  FARM  LABORER  FOR  RELIGIOUS  WORSHIP,
WHENEVER POSSIBLE.
  S  4.  Paragraphs b and d of subdivision 2 of section 161 of the labor
law, as amended by chapter 281 of the laws of 1941, are amended to  read
as follows:
  b.  Employees in [dairies, creameries,] milk condenseries, milk powder
factories, milk sugar factories,  milk  shipping  stations,  butter  and
cheese  factories,  ice  cream  manufacturing  plants  and milk bottling
plants, where not more than seven persons are employed;
  d. Employees whose duties include not more than three hours'  work  on
Sunday  in setting sponges in bakeries, [caring for live animals,] main-
taining fires, or making necessary repairs to boilers or machinery.
  S 5. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 163-a to read as
follows:
  S 163-A. HOURS OF AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT. NO  PERSON  OR  CORPORATION
OPERATING  A  FARM  SHALL REQUIRE ANY FARM LABORER TO WORK MORE THAN TEN
HOURS IN ANY DAY, SIXTY HOURS IN ANY CALENDAR WEEK, OR SIX DAYS  IN  ANY
CALENDAR WEEK, UNLESS SUCH FARM LABORER IS PAID AS FOLLOWS:
  A.  HOURLY  RATE.  (1) ANY FARM LABORER WHO IS PAID ON AN HOURLY BASIS
AND WHO IS EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OVER, OR WHO IS SIXTEEN OR SEVENTEEN
YEARS OF AGE AND NOT REQUIRED BY LAW  TO  ATTEND  SCHOOL  SHALL  NOT  BE
EMPLOYED MORE THAN TEN HOURS IN ANY DAY, OR MORE THAN SIXTY HOURS IN ANY
CALENDAR  WEEK,  OR  MORE  THAN SIX DAYS IN ANY CALENDAR WEEK UNLESS THE
FARM LABORER RECEIVES ONE AND ONE-HALF TIMES THE REGULAR RATE  AT  WHICH
HE OR SHE IS EMPLOYED FOR ALL HOURS WORKED IN EXCESS OF TEN HOURS IN ANY
DAY  OR  SIXTY HOURS IN ANY CALENDAR WEEK. ANY FARM LABORER WHO WORKS ON
THE SEVENTH DAY IN ANY CALENDAR WEEK  SHALL  RECEIVE  ONE  AND  ONE-HALF
TIMES  THE  REGULAR  RATE  AT  WHICH HE OR SHE IS EMPLOYED FOR THE FIRST
EIGHT HOURS WORKED, AND TWO TIMES THE REGULAR RATE AT WHICH HE OR SHE IS
EMPLOYED FOR ALL HOURS WORKED IN EXCESS OF EIGHT HOURS THAT DAY.
  (2) BEGINNING ON JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND FOURTEEN, ANY FARM LABOR-
ER WHO IS PAID AN HOURLY WAGE RATE SHALL NOT BE EMPLOYED MORE  THAN  TEN
HOURS  IN  ANY  DAY  OR  MORE THAN FIFTY-FIVE HOURS IN ANY CALENDAR WEEK
UNLESS THE FARM LABORER RECEIVES ONE AND ONE-HALF TIMES THE REGULAR RATE
AT WHICH HE OR SHE IS EMPLOYED FOR ALL HOURS WORKED  IN  EXCESS  OF  TEN
HOURS  IN  ANY  DAY  OR  FIFTY-FIVE HOURS IN ANY CALENDAR WEEK. ANY FARM
LABORER WHO WORKS ON THE SEVENTH DAY IN ANY CALENDAR WEEK SHALL  RECEIVE
ONE  AND  ONE-HALF TIMES THE REGULAR RATE AT WHICH HE OR SHE IS EMPLOYED
FOR THE FIRST EIGHT HOURS WORKED, AND TWO  TIMES  THE  REGULAR  RATE  AT
WHICH  HE  OR  SHE  IS  EMPLOYED FOR ALL HOURS WORKED IN EXCESS OF EIGHT
HOURS THAT DAY.

S. 8127                             3

  B. PIECE WORK RATE. (1) ANY FARM LABORER WHO IS PAID ON A  PIECE  RATE
BASIS  SHALL  BE  PAID AT A RATE WHICH SHALL BE NO LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED
FIFTY PERCENT OF THE MINIMUM WAGE RATE ESTABLISHED BY REGULATIONS OF THE
DEPARTMENT FOR HOURS WORKED IN EXCESS OF TEN HOURS IN ANY DAY  OR  SIXTY
HOURS IN ANY CALENDAR WEEK.
  (2) BEGINNING ON JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND THIRTEEN, ANY FARM LABOR-
ER  WHO  IS  PAID  ON A PIECE WORK BASIS SHALL BE PAID AT A RATE NO LESS
THAN ONE HUNDRED FIFTY PERCENT OF THE MINIMUM WAGE RATE  ESTABLISHED  BY
REGULATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT FOR HOURS WORKED IN EXCESS OF TEN HOURS IN
ANY DAY OR FIFTY-FIVE HOURS IN ANY CALENDAR WEEK.
  (3)  ANY  FARM  LABORER WHO IS PAID A PIECE WORK RATE WHO WORKS ON THE
SEVENTH DAY IN ANY CALENDAR WEEK SHALL BE PAID AT A RATE  NO  LESS  THAN
ONE  HUNDRED FIFTY PERCENT OF THE MINIMUM WAGE RATE ESTABLISHED BY REGU-
LATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE FIRST  EIGHT  HOURS  AND  TWO  HUNDRED
PERCENT  OF  THAT  MINIMUM  WAGE  RATE FOR ANY HOURS WORKED IN EXCESS OF
EIGHT ON THAT DAY. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL PROHIBIT A FARM EMPLOY-
ER FROM PAYING A PIECE WORK RATE IN EXCESS OF THE RATES REQUIRED BY THIS
SECTION.
  S 6. Section 564 of the labor law, as added by chapter 675 of the laws
of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
  S 564.  Agricultural  labor.  1.  Coverage.  (a)  Notwithstanding  the
provisions of section five hundred sixty of this article, an employer of
persons  engaged  in agricultural labor shall become liable for contrib-
utions under this article if the employer:
  (1) has paid cash remuneration of [twenty thousand] SIX  THOUSAND  TWO
HUNDRED  FIFTY  dollars  or  more  in  any  calendar  quarter to persons
employed in agricultural labor, and such liability shall commence on the
first day of such quarter, or
  (2) has employed in agricultural labor ten or more persons on each  of
twenty  days during a calendar year or the preceding calendar year, each
day being in a different calendar week, and the liability shall in  such
event commence on the first day of the calendar year, or
  (3)  is  liable for the tax imposed under the federal unemployment tax
act as an employer of agricultural labor and the liability shall in such
event commence on the first day of the calendar quarter in such calendar
year when he first paid remuneration  for  agricultural  labor  in  this
state.
  (b)  An  employer who becomes liable for contributions under paragraph
(a) of this subdivision shall cease to be liable as of the first day  of
a  calendar  quarter  next following the filing of a written application
provided the commissioner finds that the employer:
  (1) has not paid to persons employed in agricultural labor cash remun-
eration of [twenty thousand] SIX THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED FIFTY  dollars  or
more in any of the eight calendar quarters preceding such day, and
  (2) has not employed in agricultural labor ten or more persons on each
of  twenty  days during the current or the preceding calendar year, each
day being in a different week, and
  (3) is not liable for the tax imposed under the  federal  unemployment
tax act as an employer of agricultural labor.
  2.  EXCLUSION  FROM  COVERAGE.  THE TERM "EMPLOYMENT" DOES NOT INCLUDE
SERVICES RENDERED BY AN INDIVIDUAL WHO  IS  AN  ALIEN  ADMITTED  TO  THE
UNITED  STATES TO PERFORM AGRICULTURAL LABOR PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 214(C)
AND 101(A)(15)(H) OF THE FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT IF,  AT
THE  TIME  SUCH  SERVICES ARE RENDERED, THEY ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE DEFI-
NITION OF EMPLOYMENT IN SECTION 3306(C) OF THE FEDERAL UNEMPLOYMENT  TAX
ACT.

S. 8127                             4

  3.  Crew  leader.  Whenever a person renders services as a member of a
crew which is paid and furnished by the crew leader to perform  services
in  agricultural  labor for another employer, such other employer shall,
for the purpose of this article, be deemed to be the  employer  of  such
person, unless:
  (a)  the  crew  leader holds a valid certificate of registration under
the federal farm labor contractor registration act of  nineteen  hundred
sixty-three  or  substantially  all  the  members of the crew operate or
maintain tractors, mechanized harvesting or cropdusting machinery or any
other mechanized equipment which is provided by the crew leader, and
  (b) the crew leader is not an employee of such other employer and  has
not  entered  into a written agreement with such employer under which he
is designated as an employee.
  S 7. Subdivision 1 of section 674 of the labor law, as added by  chap-
ter 552 of the laws of 1969, is amended to read as follows:
  1. The commissioner may promulgate such regulations as he deems appro-
priate  to carry out the purposes of this article and to safeguard mini-
mum wage standards. Such regulations may include, but  are  not  limited
to,  the  defining of the circumstances or conditions for the acceptance
of non-hourly rates and piece rates as equivalent to the minimum  hourly
rates  established  by  this article. Such regulations also may include,
but are not limited  to,  waiting  time  and  call-in  pay  rates;  wage
provisions  governing  guaranteed  earnings  during specified periods of
work; allowances for meals,  lodging,  and  other  items,  services  and
facilities  when furnished by the employer; [and the employment of indi-
viduals whose earning capacity is affected or impaired by youth or age,]
or by physical or mental deficiency or  injury,  under  special  certif-
icates  issued by the commissioner, at such wages lower than the minimum
wage established by this  article  and  for  such  period  as  shall  be
prescribed in such regulations.
  S  8.  Paragraph  (m)  of  subdivision  5 of section 225 of the public
health law, as amended by chapter 894 of  the  laws  of  1958  and  such
subdivision as renumbered by chapter 626 of the laws of 1971, is amended
to read as follows:
  (m) require that application be made for a permit to operate a farm or
food  processing  labor  camp as defined in the sanitary code; authorize
appropriate officers or agencies to issue such a permit when the  appli-
cant is in compliance with the established regulations; prescribe stand-
ards  for  living  quarters  at  farm  and  food processing labor camps,
including provisions for sanitary conditions; light,  air,  and  safety;
protection from fire hazards; maintenance; and such other matters as may
be  appropriate  for  security of life or health, provided however, that
the  provisions  of  the  sanitary  code  established  pursuant  to  the
provisions  hereof  shall  apply  to  all farm and food processing labor
camps intended to house migrant workers and which are occupied [by  five
or  more  persons].  In  the preparation of such regulations, the public
health council may request and shall receive technical  assistance  from
the  board of standards and appeals of the state department of labor and
the state building code commission. Such regulation shall be enforced in
the same manner as are other provisions of the sanitary code;
  S 9. Section 51 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by  chap-
ter 561 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  S  51.   Posting of notice regarding compensation.  Every employer who
has complied with section fifty of this article shall post and  maintain
in  a  conspicuous  place  or places in and about his place or places of
business typewritten or printed IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH notices  in  form

S. 8127                             5

prescribed  by  the chairman, stating the fact that he has complied with
all the rules and regulations of the chairman and the board and that  he
has  secured  the  payment  of  compensation  to his employees and their
dependents  in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, but fail-
ure to post such notice as herein provided shall not in any  way  affect
the  exclusiveness  of the remedy provided for by section eleven of this
chapter.  Every employer who owns or operates automotive or  horse-drawn
vehicles  and  has  no  minimum  staff  of regular employees required to
report for work at an established place of business maintained  by  such
employer  and  every  employer  who is engaged in the business of moving
household goods or furniture shall post such notices in each  and  every
vehicle  owned  or  operated  by him.   Failure to post or maintain such
notice in any of said vehicles  shall  constitute  presumptive  evidence
that  such  employer  has  failed to secure the payment of compensation.
The chairman may require any employer to furnish a written statement  at
any time showing the stock corporation, mutual corporation or reciprocal
insurer  in  which  such employer is insured or the manner in which such
employer has complied with any provision of this chapter.  Failure for a
period of ten days to furnish such written  statement  shall  constitute
presumptive  evidence  that  such  employer  has  neglected or failed in
respect of any of the matters so required.   Any employer who  fails  to
comply  with  the provisions of this section shall be required to pay to
the board a fine of up to two hundred fifty dollars for each  violation,
in  addition  to any other penalties imposed by law to be deposited into
the uninsured employers' fund.
  S 10.   The workers' compensation law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
section 110-b to read as follows:
  S  110-B. REPORTING OF INJURIES TO EMPLOYER. EVERY FARM LABOR CONTRAC-
TOR, FOREMAN OR SUPERVISOR OF FARM LABORERS WHO HAS NOTICE OF ANY INJURY
TO A FARM LABORER INCURRED DURING THE  COURSE  OF  EMPLOYMENT  SHALL  BE
REQUIRED TO INFORM THE EMPLOYER, OWNER OR OPERATOR OF A FARM OF ANY SUCH
INJURY.
  S  11. The first undesignated paragraph of section 120 of the workers'
compensation law, as amended by chapter 61  of  the  laws  of  1989,  is
amended to read as follows:
  It  shall  be  unlawful for any employer or his or her duly authorized
agent to discharge or  in  any  other  manner  discriminate  against  an
employee  as  to his or her employment because such employee has claimed
or attempted to claim compensation from such employer, REQUESTED A CLAIM
FORM FOR INJURIES RECEIVED IN THE COURSE OF EMPLOYMENT, or because he or
she has testified or is about to testify  in  a  proceeding  under  this
chapter  and  no other valid reason is shown to exist for such action by
the employer.
  S 12. The opening paragraph of paragraph A of subdivision 6 of section
201 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 903  of  the
laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
  "Employment"  means  employment  in  any trade, business or occupation
carried on by an employer, except that the following shall not be deemed
employment under this article:  services  performed  for  the  state,  a
municipal corporation, local governmental agency, other political subdi-
vision  or  public authority; employment subject to the federal railroad
unemployment insurance act; service performed on or  as  an  officer  or
member  of  the  crew  of  a vessel on the navigable water of the United
States or outside the United States; [service as farm laborers;]  casual
employment  and the first forty-five days of extra employment of employ-
ees not regularly in employment as otherwise defined herein; service  as

S. 8127                             6

golf  caddies;  and service during all or any part of the school year or
regular vacation periods as a part-time worker of any person actually in
regular attendance during the day time as a student in an elementary  or
secondary  school.  The term "employment" shall not include the services
of a licensed real estate broker or sales associate if it be proven that
(a) substantially all of the remuneration (whether or not paid in  cash)
for the services performed by such broker or sales associate is directly
related to sales or other output (including the performance of services)
rather than to the number of hours worked; (b) the services performed by
the  broker  or  sales  associate  are  performed  pursuant to a written
contract executed between such broker or sales associate and the  person
for  whom  the  services are performed within the past twelve to fifteen
months; and (c) the written contract provided for in [paragraph] SUBPAR-
AGRAPH (b) herein was not executed under duress and contains the follow-
ing provisions:
  S 13. Nothing in this act shall be  deemed  to  diminish  the  rights,
privileges,  or  remedies  of  any  farm  laborer  under  any collective
bargaining agreement entered into on or after the effective date of this
act.
  S 14. This act shall take effect April 1, 2011, provided that  section
twelve  of  this  act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day
after it shall have become a law, and  provided  further,  that  section
five of this act shall take effect January 1, 2012.

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Senate Bill S8127

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Sponsored By

Pedro Espada Jr.