“Today’s recommendation from the Farm Laborers Wage Board to reduce the overtime threshold completely ignores the voices and concerns of New York farmers. Majority lawmakers have never seen a regulation they didn’t like, regardless of who it hurts. Today’s decision is completely tone-deaf to the brutal economic conditions facing family farmers.

At a time when famers can least afford it, Majority is adding even more regulatory pressure and cutting into razor-thin margins. The agriculture industry cannot sustain any more strain, and the ensuing layoffs, closures and production cutbacks will wreak havoc on both farmers and farm workers.

This is an unnecessary, costly regulation that will put generational family farms out of business and do severe damage to one of the state’s cornerstone industries. I urge Commissioner Reardon and Gov. Hochul to wholly reject any change to the state’s overtime threshold and protect our critical agriculture sector.”