What it means for you
Since 2020, covered New York farmworkers get 24 hours of weekly rest, overtime, workers' compensation, and collective-bargaining rights; the law also expanded unemployment insurance. The overtime threshold fell to 52 hours in 2026 and drops to 40 by 2032.
Who benefits: Covered people who work on New York farms, including H-2A guest workers, who gain overtime, weekly-rest, and collective-bargaining protections.
For decades, farmworkers lacked protections other workers had. Covered farmworkers get 24 consecutive hours off each week; if they voluntarily work that day, they earn time and a half. They also get overtime for long weeks and may organize and bargain as a group. The law expanded workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance coverage. Employers cannot retaliate against workers for seeking workers’ compensation.
No application is needed for overtime or weekly rest; those protections come with covered farm work. The law first set overtime after 60 hours a week. In September 2022, Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon accepted a wage board plan to lower the threshold, and final regulations took effect in 2023. It fell to 52 hours in 2026 and drops four hours every other year until reaching 40 in 2032.
Assembly Member Catherine Nolan carried farmworker protections for years, while Sen. Jessica Ramos sponsored the Senate bill. Nolan credited Senate Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Gov. Andrew Cuomo with putting the compromise together; Assembly Labor Chair Marcos Crespo also led the Assembly effort. The bill passed the Assembly 94 to 54 and Senate 40 to 22 on June 19, 2019. Every Senate Democrat voted yes and every Republican no. Cuomo signed it July 17.
The union provisions face an active federal challenge. In 2024, a court blocked enforcement of one clause that barred employers from discouraging union activity. In September 2026, a magistrate judge recommended denying a newer bid to block union contracts; the case remains pending.
Work and wagesRights
Where it stands, and how we know
Source for this status, checked November 11, 2026.
Sources
- A8419, Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices ActNew York State Senate
- S6578 (Senate companion bill)New York State Senate
- Assembly passes the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices ActNew York State Assembly, June 19, 2019
- Farm Laborers Wage BoardNew York State Department of Labor
- New York State Assembly floor transcriptNew York State Assembly, June 19, 2019
- Decision and order in New York State Vegetable Growers Association v. JamesU.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, February 21, 2024
- NY Labor Contracts Don't Clash With H-2A Laws, Judge SaysLaw360 Employment Authority, September 24, 2026
How we checked this
Drafted by Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) on November 11, 2026. Checked against its sources by GPT-5.6-sol (OpenAI) on November 12, 2026, which corrected it. Confirmed the law, benefits, overtime schedule, sponsors, and both final votes. Corrected the court status, order date, credit record, benefit qualifiers, and Assembly vote.
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