NY State Senate Bill 2011-S1862

Senate Bill S1862

2011-2012 Legislative Session

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

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

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
Mar 13, 2012	committee discharged and committed to rules notice of committee consideration - requested
Jan 04, 2012	referred to labor
Jan 13, 2011	referred to labor

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2011-S1862 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1652
Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Labor Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§2, 161, 220, 511, 651, 564, 674 & 701, add §§163-a, 704-b & 719, Lab L; amd §225, Pub Health L; amd §§3, 51, 120 & 201, add §110-b, Work Comp L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S2247, A1867
2013-2014: S1743, A1792
2015-2016: S1291, A4762
2017-2018: S235, A1223

2011-S1862 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the farmworkers fair labor practices act: grants collective bargaining rights to farm laborers; 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

2011-S1862 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S1862

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the labor law, in relation to
granting collective bargaining rights to farm laborers and
allowing farm workers one day of rest each week and
including farm laborers within the provisions pertaining to overtime
compensation and unemployment insurance; 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; to amend the workers' compensation
law, in relation to the eligibility of farm laborers for
workers' compensation benefits
and the
provision of claim forms to farm
laborers injured in the course of employment and
in relation to service as farm
laborers; and to amend the labor law, in relation to labor on a farm and
regulating the employment of certain employees whose earning capacity is
affected or impaired by youth or age

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To establish the Farmworkers Fair
Labor practices Act to allow farm workers overtime, a day of rest,
disability insurance, unemployment benefits, and other labor

protections granted to other workers in New York State.

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
workers 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
benefits 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 701 of the labor law to provide
collective bargaining rights to workers of a farm employer with gross
sales of at least $650,000 during the previous calendar year.

Section 9 of the bill adds a new section 704-a to the labor law to
require a 21-day cooling off period between certain farm employers
and employees before they use a work stoppage or lockout to settle a
labor dispute,

Section 10 of the bill establishes an advisory committee on
agricultural collective bargaining to report to the legislature and
governor by December 31, 2010 with recommendations to implement
collective bargaining procedures, and to foster labor-management
cooperation and dispute resolution between farm employers and
farmworkers.

Section 11 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 12 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, and to increase the penalty from
$250 to $500 for failure to post such notice.

Section 13 of the hill adds a new section 110-b to the workers'
compensation law to require foremen who receive notice of an injury
to a worker suffered in the course of farm employment to inform the
employer of the injury.

Section 14 of the bill amends the section 120 of the workers'
compensation law to make it unlawful to discharge an employee for
requesting a claim form relating to injuries incurred in the course
of employment.

Section 15 of the bill amends section 201 of the workers' compensation
law to provide disability insurance coverage to farm workers.

Section 16 of the bill adds a new section to protect the rights of
farmworkers established under a collective bargaining agreement.

Section 17 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
farmworkers 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 renumeration during a calendar quarter,


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

Section 701 of the labor law excludes farmworkers from the right to
collective bargaining.

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 51 of the workers' compensation law establishes a fine of up
to $250 for failure to post notice of workers' compensation insurance.

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, vegetables, grapes, floriculture and other products. Farm
work is labor intensive 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 such
as a day of rest. overtime pay. disability insurance, unemployment
benefits and collective bargaining have been denied to farmworkers
for decades. This legislation would grant farmworkers the basic labor
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 Reading.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately, provided that
section ten of this act shall take effect on the thirtieth day
after it  shall have become a law.

2011-S1862 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  1862

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 13, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced by Sen. ESPAILLAT -- 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 granting collective
  bargaining rights to farm laborers and allowing farm workers  one  day
  of  rest  each  week and including farm laborers within the provisions
  pertaining to overtime compensation  and  unemployment  insurance;  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;  to  amend  the workers' compensation law, in relation to the
  eligibility of farm laborers for workers'  compensation  benefits  and
  the provision of claim forms to farm laborers injured in the course of
  employment  and  in relation to service as farm laborers; and to amend
  the labor law, in relation to labor  on  a  farm  and  regulating  the
  employment  of certain employees whose earning capacity is affected or
  impaired by youth or age

  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. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 701 of the  labor  law,
as  amended  by  chapter  43  of the laws of 1989, is amended to read as
follows:
  (a) The term "employees" includes but is not restricted to  any  indi-
vidual employed by a labor organization; any individual whose employment
has ceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, any current labor
dispute  or  because  of  any  unfair  labor  practice,  and who has not
obtained any other regular and substantially equivalent employment;  and
shall  not  be limited to the employees of a particular employer, unless
the article explicitly states otherwise, but shall not include any indi-
vidual employed by his parent or spouse or in the  domestic  service  of
and  directly  employed,  controlled and paid by any person in his home,

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD03070-02-1

S. 1862                             2

any individual whose primary responsibility is the care of a minor child
or children and/or someone who lives in the home of  a  person  for  the
purpose  of  serving  as  a companion to a sick, convalescing or elderly
person  or  any  individuals  employed  only for the duration of a labor
dispute, [or any individuals employed as farm laborers] or[,] any  indi-
vidual  who  participates  in and receives rehabilitative or therapeutic
services in a charitable non-profit rehabilitation facility or sheltered
workshop or any individual employed in a charitable non-profit rehabili-
tation facility or sheltered workshop who has received rehabilitative or
therapeutic services and whose capacity to perform the work for which he
is engaged is substantially impaired by physical or mental deficiency or
injury.
  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.
THIS  REQUIREMENT  SHALL NOT APPLY TO THE PARENT, CHILD, SPOUSE OR OTHER
MEMBER OF THE EMPLOYER'S IMMEDIATE FAMILY. TWENTY-FOUR CONSECUTIVE HOURS
SPENT AT REST BECAUSE OF CIRCUMSTANCES, SUCH AS WEATHER OR  CROP  CONDI-
TIONS,  SHALL  BE  DEEMED  TO CONSTITUTE THE REST REQUIRED BY THIS PARA-
GRAPH. NO PROVISION OF THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL PROHIBIT A FARM LABORER FROM
VOLUNTARILY REFUSING THE REST REQUIRED BY  THIS  PARAGRAPH.    THE  TERM
"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 THE
RAISING, SHEARING, CARING FOR AND MANAGEMENT OF  LIVESTOCK,  POULTRY  OR
DAIRY.   THE DAY OF REST AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION SHOULD, WHEN-
EVER POSSIBLE, COINCIDE WITH THE TRADITIONAL DAY RESERVED  BY  THE  FARM
LABORER FOR RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.
  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 opening paragraph of subdivision 3  of  section  160  of  the
labor  law, as amended by chapter 481 of the laws of 2010, is amended to
read as follows:
  For all other employees, except [those engaged in farm work and] those
affected by subdivision four of section two hundred twenty of this chap-
ter, eight hours.
  S 6. Subdivision 1 of section 220 of the labor law is amended to  read
as follows:
  1.  Eight hours shall constitute a legal day's work for all classes of
employees in this state except those  engaged  in  [farm  and]  domestic
service unless otherwise provided by law.
  S 7. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 163-a to read as
follows:
  S  163-A.  FARM  LABORERS.  NO  PERSON OR CORPORATION OPERATING A FARM
SHALL REQUIRE ANY EMPLOYEE TO WORK MORE THAN EIGHT  HOURS  IN  ANY  DAY;
PROVIDED,  HOWEVER, THAT OVERTIME WORK PERFORMED BY A FARM LABORER SHALL

S. 1862                             3

BE AT A RATE WHICH IS AT LEAST  ONE  AND  ONE-HALF  TIMES  THE  WORKER'S
NORMAL WAGE RATE.
  S  8.  The  opening  paragraph  of  paragraph  (a) of subdivision 6 of
section 511 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 675 of the  laws  of
1977, is amended to read as follows:
  The  term  "employment" [does not include] INCLUDES agricultural labor
[unless it is covered pursuant to section five hundred sixty-four].  The
term "agricultural labor" includes all service performed:
  S 9. 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 CREW LEADERS.  [1. Coverage. (a) Notwith-
standing the provisions of section five hundred sixty of  this  article,
an employer of persons engaged in agricultural labor shall become liable
for contributions under this article if the employer:
  (1)  has  paid cash remuneration of twenty thousand 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 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.  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)]  1.  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)] 2. 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  10.  Paragraph  (m)  of  subdivision 5 of section 225 of the public
health law, as amended by section 51 of part A of chapter 58 of the laws
of 2010, 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

S. 1862                             4

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 and health planning council may request and shall receive techni-
cal  assistance  from  the  board  of standards and appeals of the state
department of labor and the state building code commission.  Such  regu-
lation  shall  be enforced in the same manner as are other provisions of
the sanitary code;
  S 11. Groups 14-a and 14-b of subdivision 1 of section 3 of the  work-
ers'  compensation law, Group 14-a as amended by chapter 233 of the laws
of 1961 and Group 14-b as added by chapter 646 of the laws of 1966,  are
amended to read as follows:
  Group  14-a.  On  and after January first, nineteen hundred sixty-two,
any other employment in a trade, business, or occupation carried  on  by
the  employer  for  pecuniary gain in which one or more employees [other
than farm laborers] are employed.
  Group 14-b. Employment as a farm laborer as provided herein.  A farmer
shall  provide  coverage  under  this  chapter  for  all  farm  laborers
[employed  during  any  part  of the twelve consecutive months beginning
April first of any calendar year preceded by a calendar  year  in  which
the  cash  remuneration  paid  to  all  farm  laborers aggregated twelve
hundred dollars or more].
  S 12.  Section 51 of the workers'  compensation  law,  as  amended  by
chapter 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 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 depen-
dents in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, but failure  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 chap-
ter. Every employer who owns or operates automotive or horse-drawn vehi-
cles 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 employ-
er  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

S. 1862                             5

provisions of this section shall be required to pay to the board a  fine
of [up to two hundred fifty] FIVE HUNDRED dollars for each violation, in
addition  to any other penalties imposed by law to be deposited into the
uninsured employers' fund.
  S 13. 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  14. 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 15. The opening paragraph of paragraph A of subdivision 6 of section
201 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 481  of  the
laws of 2010, 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
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  include  domestic or
personal work in a private home. 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 associ-
ate is directly related to sales or other output (including the perform-
ance  of  services)  rather  than to the number of hours worked; (b) the
services performed by the broker or sales associate are performed pursu-
ant to a written contract executed between such broker or sales  associ-
ate  and  the person for whom the services are performed within the past
twelve to fifteen months; and (c) the written contract provided  for  in
subparagraph  (b)  of  this  paragraph was not executed under duress and
contains the following provisions:
  S 16. The opening paragraph of subdivision 5 of  section  651  of  the
labor  law, as amended by chapter 481 of the laws of 2010, is amended to
read as follows:
  "Employee" includes any individual employed or permitted to work by an
employer in any occupation, but shall not include any individual who  is

S. 1862                             6

employed  or  permitted  to  work: (a) on a casual basis in service as a
part time baby sitter in the home of the employer; (b) [in  labor  on  a
farm;  (c)]  in  a  bona fide executive, administrative, or professional
capacity;  [(d)]  (C)  as  an  outside  salesman;  [(e)] (D) as a driver
engaged in operating a taxicab; [(f)] (E) as  a  volunteer,  learner  or
apprentice  by  a  corporation,  unincorporated  association,  community
chest, fund or foundation organized and operated exclusively  for  reli-
gious,  charitable  or educational purposes, no part of the net earnings
of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual;
[(g)] (F) as a member of a religious  order,  or  as  a  duly  ordained,
commissioned  or  licensed minister, priest or rabbi, or as a sexton, or
as a christian science reader; [(h)] (G) in or for such a  religious  or
charitable  institution,  which  work  is incidental to or in return for
charitable aid conferred upon such individual and not under any  express
contract  of  hire; [(i)] (H) in or for such a religious, educational or
charitable institution if such individual is a student; [(j)] (I) in  or
for such a religious, educational or charitable institution if the earn-
ing  capacity  of  such  individual is impaired by age or by physical or
mental deficiency or injury; [(k)] (J)  in  or  for  a  summer  camp  or
conference  of  such  a religious, educational or charitable institution
for not more than three months annually; [(l)] (K) as a staff  counselor
in  a  children's  camp;  [(m)]  (L)  in  or for a college or university
fraternity, sorority, student association  or  faculty  association,  no
part  of  the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private
shareholder or individual, and which is recognized by  such  college  or
university,  if  such  individual  is a student; [(n)] (M) by a federal,
state or municipal government or political  subdivision  thereof.    The
exclusions  from the term "employee" contained in this subdivision shall
be as defined by regulations of the commissioner;  or  [(o)]  (N)  as  a
volunteer  at  a  recreational or amusement event run by a business that
operates such events, provided that no single such  event  lasts  longer
than  eight  consecutive days and no more than one such event concerning
substantially the same subject matter occurs in any calendar  year.  Any
such volunteer shall be at least eighteen years of age. A business seek-
ing  coverage under this paragraph shall notify every volunteer in writ-
ing, in language acceptable to the commissioner,  that  by  volunteering
his  or  her  services,  such  volunteer  is waiving his or her right to
receive the minimum wage pursuant to this article. Such notice shall  be
signed  and  dated by a representative of the business and the volunteer
and kept on file by the business for thirty-six months.
  S 17. 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

S. 1862                             7

wage  established  by  this  article  and  for  such  period as shall be
prescribed in such regulations.
  S  18.  This  act shall take effect immediately, provided that section
ten of this act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
have become a law.

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