Legislation
SECTION 665
Savings clause
Labor (LAB) CHAPTER 31, ARTICLE 19
* § 665. Savings clause. If any provision of this article or the
application thereof to any person, employer, occupation or circumstance
is held invalid, the remainder of the article and the application of
such provision to other persons, employees, occupations, or
circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
* NB Effective until January 31, 2027
* § 665. Cannabis industry wage board. 1. The commissioner shall
hereby convene a cannabis industry wage board. The wage board shall be
comprised of three members: one representative of the New York state
licensed cannabis industry; 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-seven. 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. Two-thirds of the members of the board shall constitute 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. The wage board shall have power to conduct public hearings. The
board may also consult with cannabis employers, cannabis workers, and
their respective representatives, in the occupation or occupations
involved, and with such other persons, 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. The wage board shall only meet within the state and must hold at
least three hearings 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 transcripts, shall be available
in English, Spanish, and, to the extent practicable, any other language
upon request.
5. The wage board shall make a report to the governor and the
legislature, including, but not limited to, its recommendations as to
minimum hourly wages. The report shall recommend prospective wage
increases in the same manner as minimum wage increases pursuant to
subdivision 1-b of section six hundred fifty-two of this article. The
report shall include specific recommendations for workers in each of the
following areas: cultivation; processing and packaging; distribution;
and retail and delivery. The board shall have the discretion to include
specific recommendations for additional classifications of cannabis
industry worker, and an industry-wide minimum wage for workers not
captured within any specific classification, and shall have the
discretion to determine that wages in the industry are adequate. 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 submitted no later than
December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-seven.
6. Nothing contained in the wage board's report or recommendations
shall diminish or limit any rights, protections, benefits or
entitlements currently enjoyed by and/or available to any cannabis
worker in the state.
7. The commissioner shall comply with section six hundred fifty-six of
this article upon receipt of the wage board's recommendations. The
commissioner may reconvene the same wage board or appoint a new wage
board in compliance with section six hundred fifty-nine of this article.
* NB Effective January 31, 2027
application thereof to any person, employer, occupation or circumstance
is held invalid, the remainder of the article and the application of
such provision to other persons, employees, occupations, or
circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
* NB Effective until January 31, 2027
* § 665. Cannabis industry wage board. 1. The commissioner shall
hereby convene a cannabis industry wage board. The wage board shall be
comprised of three members: one representative of the New York state
licensed cannabis industry; 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-seven. 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. Two-thirds of the members of the board shall constitute 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. The wage board shall have power to conduct public hearings. The
board may also consult with cannabis employers, cannabis workers, and
their respective representatives, in the occupation or occupations
involved, and with such other persons, 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. The wage board shall only meet within the state and must hold at
least three hearings 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 transcripts, shall be available
in English, Spanish, and, to the extent practicable, any other language
upon request.
5. The wage board shall make a report to the governor and the
legislature, including, but not limited to, its recommendations as to
minimum hourly wages. The report shall recommend prospective wage
increases in the same manner as minimum wage increases pursuant to
subdivision 1-b of section six hundred fifty-two of this article. The
report shall include specific recommendations for workers in each of the
following areas: cultivation; processing and packaging; distribution;
and retail and delivery. The board shall have the discretion to include
specific recommendations for additional classifications of cannabis
industry worker, and an industry-wide minimum wage for workers not
captured within any specific classification, and shall have the
discretion to determine that wages in the industry are adequate. 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 submitted no later than
December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-seven.
6. Nothing contained in the wage board's report or recommendations
shall diminish or limit any rights, protections, benefits or
entitlements currently enjoyed by and/or available to any cannabis
worker in the state.
7. The commissioner shall comply with section six hundred fifty-six of
this article upon receipt of the wage board's recommendations. The
commissioner may reconvene the same wage board or appoint a new wage
board in compliance with section six hundred fifty-nine of this article.
* NB Effective January 31, 2027