Griffo reacts to Labor Department’s decision to lower overtime threshold for New York farmworkers

It’s a done deal. Over the next decade, the overtime threshold for New York farmworkers will be lowered from 60 to 40-hours, a move that has been met with criticism from agriculture officials and local lawmakers.

The deal was announced late last week as Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon gave the stamp of approval, stating that the plan is “the best path forward.”

However, not everyone is seeing eye-to-eye. "The decision made by the state Department of Labor to accept the New York Farm Laborers Wage Board's recommendation to lower the overtime threshold for farms will have a devastating effect on the state's agriculture industry,” said Senator Joe Griffo (R-C-I-ROME).

New York is now among several other states that have accomplished this move. 

Image courtesy via the office of New York State Senator Joe Griffo.