Bill Text: NY S04250 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to allowing farm laborers to decide to work on a day of rest.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO LABOR [S04250 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04250-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4250

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 7, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  ASHBY  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor

        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to allowing farm laborers  to
          decide to work on a day of rest

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The closing paragraph of subdivision 1 of  section  161  of
     2  the  labor  law, as amended by section 4 of part II of chapter 58 of the
     3  laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
     4    Every person employed as a farm laborer  shall  be  allowed  at  least
     5  twenty-four  consecutive  hours of rest in each and every calendar week.
     6  Twenty-four consecutive hours spent at rest  because  of  circumstances,
     7  such  as  weather  or crop conditions, shall be deemed to constitute the
     8  rest required by this paragraph. [No provision of this  paragraph  shall
     9  prohibit a farm laborer from voluntarily agreeing to work on such day of
    10  rest  required  by  this  paragraph,  provided  that the farm laborer is
    11  compensated at an overtime rate which is at least one and one-half times
    12  the laborer's regular rate of pay for all hours worked on  such  day  of
    13  rest.] No provision of this paragraph shall prohibit a farm laborer from
    14  voluntarily  agreeing to work on such day of rest required by this para-
    15  graph. The farm laborer shall be compensated at the regular rate of  pay
    16  for  any hours up to sixty hours in any calendar week; and for any hours
    17  over sixty hours, the farm laborer shall be compensated at  an  overtime
    18  rate which is at least one and one-half times the laborer's regular rate
    19  of  pay.  The  term "farm labor" shall include all services performed in
    20  agricultural employment in connection with cultivating the soil,  or  in
    21  connection  with  raising  or  harvesting  of  agricultural commodities,
    22  including the raising, shearing, caring for and management of livestock,
    23  poultry or dairy. The day of  rest  authorized  under  this  subdivision
    24  should, whenever possible, coincide with the traditional day reserved by
    25  the farm laborer for religious worship.
    26    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06269-01-3