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Franklin County Legislature opposes proposed overtime mandate for farm workers
Summary
The county legislature unanimously adopted a resolution opposing S2837 and A2750—bills that would mandate overtime pay for agricultural workers—saying such mandates would harm North Country farms that depend on weather-driven schedules and migrant labor.
On April 4 the Franklin County Legislature unanimously passed a resolution (No. 94) opposing proposed state legislation (Senate Bill S2837 and Assembly Bill A2750) that would mandate overtime pay for agricultural workers who work more than eight hours in a day.
The resolution (moved by Legislator Lauzon and seconded by Legislator Dumas) said the bills would “have a devastating and crippling effect on farmers in New York State,” arguing that agriculture is weather-dependent and often requires longer workdays during harvest, and that North Country farms rely on migrant workers because local labor supply is insufficient. The resolution directs the Clerk to transmit official copies to Governor Andrew Cuomo and a list of state legislators named in the text.
Why it matters: County leaders said mandating daily overtime could increase labor costs to the point that some farms would close or be forced into bankruptcy, with downstream economic effects in rural communities.
What the Legislature did: The resolution is a formal policy position urging state lawmakers to reconsider the bills; it does not block state legislation but records the county’s opposition and forwards the county’s concerns to Albany.
Next steps: The Clerk was directed to send the resolution to state elected officials identified in the text. No further local action was recorded in the transcript.
