Senate Passes The Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act

(Albany, NY) The Senate has passed the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act to grant collective bargaining rights, workers’ compensation, and unemployment benefits to farm laborers. This legislation, S.6578, sponsored by Senator Jessica Ramos, will address the standards of working conditions and include a measure to require overtime pay. The Fair Labor Practices Act also provides unemployment insurance, 24 consecutive hours of rest each week, and a sanitary code for all farm and food processing labor camps intended to house farm laborers.

“The agriculture industry is crucial to New York’s economy and workforce. Today we are standing up for farm laborers and giving them the rights that they deserve while continuing to work with the agriculture industry to help them be successful,” Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said. “I applaud Senator Ramos for championing this bill and working to build a stronger, and fairer, agriculture industry across New York State.”

Bill Sponsor and Chair of Labor Committee, Senator Jessica Ramos said, “The Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act has lingered in this body for 20 years, with 7 sponsors on both sides of the aisle. I am proud today to be the 8^th and last sponsor of the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act. I have traveled to seven counties in New York, visited 14 farms, talked to countless farmworkers, and held three hearings on this bill. There are 80-100,000 farmworkers that are the backbone of New York’s multi-billion dollar agricultural industry. Today we are correcting a historic injustice, a remnant of Jim Crow era laws, to affirm that those farmworkers must be granted rights just as any other worker in New York.”

The Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act is a significant victory for farm laborers who have been historically excluded from basic labor protections under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Chair of the Labor Committee and bill sponsor, Senator Jessica Ramos, held three hearings in Central New York, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley. She also visited 14 farms across seven counties in New York State to ensure that this legislation reflects the needs of both the farm laborers and farm owners in the agriculture industry. The hearings gave a chance for concerned citizens, laborers, and farm owners alike to provide testimony on how the legislation would work best for their industry.

*Attached, please find a Spanish translation of the above release*

*Adjunto, encuentre una traducción en español de la versión anterior*