S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  3822--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             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:
 
   Section 1. Section 674-a of the labor law, as added by chapter 105  of
 the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   §  674-a.  Farm  laborers  wage board. 1. Wage board. The commissioner
 shall hereby convene a farm laborers wage board. The wage board shall be
 comprised of three members: one representative of the farm  bureau,  one
 representative of the New York State AFL-CIO and one member appointed by
 the  commissioner,  who  shall  be  selected from the general public and
 designated as chairperson. The wage board shall hold its  first  hearing
 no later than March first, two thousand twenty. The members of the board
 shall  not  receive  a  salary  or other compensation, but shall be paid
 actual and necessary traveling expenses while engaged in the performance
 of their duties.
   2. Organization. Two-thirds of the members of the board shall  consti-
 tute  a  quorum.  The  chairperson may from time to time formulate rules
 governing the manner in which the wage board shall function and  perform
 its duties under this article.
   3. Powers. The wage board shall have power to conduct public hearings.
 The  board [may] SHALL also consult with agricultural employers and farm
 laborers, and their respective representatives,  in  the  occupation  or
 occupations involved, and with such other persons, including the commis-
 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
 
 STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY, as
 it shall determine. The board shall also have power to administer  oaths
 and  to  require  by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses,
 and the production of all books, records, and other evidence relative to
 any  matters under inquiry. Such subpoenas shall be signed and issued by
 the chairperson of the board and shall  be  served  and  have  the  same
 effect as if issued out of the supreme court. The board shall have power
 to  cause  depositions of witnesses residing within or without the state
 to be taken in the manner  prescribed  for  like  depositions  in  civil
 actions in the supreme court. The board shall not be bound by common law
 or statutory rules of procedure or evidence.
   4.  Public  hearings. Within forty-five days of the appointment of the
 wage board, the board shall conduct  public  hearings.  The  wage  board
 shall  only  meet within the state and must hold at least three hearings
 IN TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-TWO AND AT LEAST TWO HEARINGS EACH  YEAR  IN  TWO
 THOUSAND  TWENTY-THREE  THROUGH  TWO  THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE, at which the
 public will be afforded an opportunity to provide comments.    At  least
 one Spanish language interpreter shall be present at each public hearing
 to  interpret  oral  testimony  delivered  in  Spanish.  Where a witness
 reveals the need for an interpreter in a language other than Spanish, to
 the extent  practicable,  an  interpreter  in  that  language  shall  be
 provided.  Any materials advertising such hearings shall be bilingual in
 English and Spanish. Any written materials disbursed at the  hearing  or
 subsequent to the hearing, including written testimony and hearing tran-
 scripts,  shall  be  available  in  English, Spanish, and, to the extent
 practicable, any other language upon request.
   5. Report. The wage board shall make a report to the governor and  the
 legislature,  including its recommendations as to overtime work for farm
 laborers. The report and recommendations of the board shall be submitted
 only after a vote of not less than a majority  of  all  its  members  in
 support of such report and recommendations. Such report shall be submit-
 ted  no  later than December thirty-first, two thousand [twenty] TWENTY-
 FIVE. The overtime rates recommended by the wage board shall not  be  in
 excess  of  sixty  hours, and the wage board shall specifically consider
 the extent to which overtime hours can be lowered below such amount  set
 in law, and may provide for a series of successively lower overtime work
 thresholds and phase-in dates as part of its determinations.
   6. The wage board shall consider:
   (A)  existing  overtime  rates in similarly situated industries in New
 York state;
   (B) FARM LABORER WAGE AND  OVERTIME  RATES  IN  STATES  THAT  SHARE  A
 GEOGRAPHICAL BORDER WITH NEW YORK;
   (C)  THE IMPACT THAT THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS HAD ON THE AGRICULTURAL
 COMMUNITY, INCLUDING ADDITIONAL EXPENSES BORNE BY EMPLOYERS;
   (D) THE TOTAL COMPENSATION, INCLUDING OTHER BENEFITS SUCH  AS  HOUSING
 OR  INSURANCE, THAT FARM LABORERS RECEIVE RELATIVE TO SIMILARLY SITUATED
 INDUSTRIES;
   (E) STATISTICS THAT SHOW VARIOUS LABOR  REQUIREMENTS  AMONGST  VARIOUS
 FARMING  SUBINDUSTRIES,  INCLUDING  BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANIMAL, CROP, OR
 AQUAFARMING;
   (F) THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND OF FARM LABORERS IN NEW YORK; AND
   (G) THE LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT ACTIONS TAKEN BY FARM LABOR EMPLOYERS  IN
 RESPONSE  TO  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FIVE OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND NINE-
 TEEN, AND OTHER ECONOMIC IMPACTS, WHICH SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMIT-
 ED TO, THE COSTS OF FUEL AND THE COSTS ASSOCIATED  WITH  COMPLYING  WITH
 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SIX OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND NINETEEN.
 A. 3822--A                          3
 
   7.  Nothing  contained  in  the wage board's report or recommendations
 shall diminish or limit any rights, protections,  benefits  or  entitle-
 ments currently available to any farm laborer.
   [7.  The]  8.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY INCONSISTENT PROVISION OF LAW, THE
 commissioner shall comply with section six  hundred  fifty-six  of  this
 chapter  NO SOONER THAN ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS upon receipt of the wage
 board's recommendations. [The commissioner may reconvene the same]  UPON
 A  DETERMINATION  BY  THE  wage  board [or appoint a new], SUCH DECISION
 SHALL BE FINAL AND THE  wage  board  [in  compliance  with  section  six
 hundred fifty-nine of this chapter] SHALL BE DISSOLVED. THE COMMISSIONER
 SHALL  NOT  RECONVENE  THE  WAGE BOARD UNLESS AUTHORIZED BY A SUBSEQUENT
 CHAPTER OF LAW.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.