S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8944
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              August 26, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. BORRELLO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 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
 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD17202-01-0

 S. 8944                             2
 
 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, AT LEAST TWO HEARINGS EACH YEAR IN TWO  THOUSAND
 TWENTY-ONE  THROUGH  TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE, AND AT LEAST THREE HEAR-
 INGS IN TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FOUR, 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  adver-
 tising  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. 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-
 FOUR. 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.
   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

 S. 8944                             3
 
   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 chapter.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.