Relates to allowing farm laborers to decide to work on a day of rest.
Summary
This bill amends New York Labor Law section 161, which requires farm laborers to receive at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each calendar week. The bill would remove the current language that expressly conditions work on that rest day on voluntary agreement plus overtime pay at one and one-half times the regular rate. In its place, the bill states that a farm laborer may voluntarily agree to work on the day of rest, and that compensation for that work would follow the bill’s weekly-hour framework: regular pay for hours up to 60 in a calendar week, and overtime pay at 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 60.
The bill also preserves the existing definition of farm labor and keeps the provision that the weekly day of rest should, when possible, coincide with the laborer’s traditional day for religious worship. It would take effect immediately if enacted. In practical terms, the measure changes the wage rules tied specifically to working on the weekly rest day for farm laborers, while leaving the general weekly rest entitlement in place.
Impact
The bill would amend the Labor Law’s farm labor rest-day provision by deleting the current requirement that work on the day of rest be compensated at overtime rates simply because it occurs on that day. Instead, it would align compensation for farm laborers who voluntarily work on their rest day with the bill’s broader weekly overtime threshold of more than 60 hours. This would affect agricultural employers and farm laborers by changing when overtime pay is triggered and how rest-day work is treated under state wage law.
Sentiment
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or formal support/opposition in the available record. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears designed to give farm laborers and employers more flexibility by allowing voluntary work on the day of rest, while preserving a weekly rest entitlement. The absence of recorded discussion makes it difficult to assess broader legislative sentiment beyond the bill’s stated policy approach.
Contention
The main point of contention is likely to be whether the bill weakens worker protections by removing the explicit overtime premium for work performed on the day of rest, or whether it simply modernizes the rule to reflect a weekly overtime standard. Labor advocates may view the change as reducing compensation tied to rest-day work, while agricultural employers may support the added flexibility and simplified pay structure. Another possible issue is whether “voluntary” agreement is sufficiently protective in the farm labor context, where power imbalances may make consent a concern.
An Act to amend and reenact § 40.1-28.9, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, of the Code of Virginia, relating to minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees.