New York · Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act · 1 January 2026
Farm overtime is 52 this year. The statute still says 60. The rest day is a separate 1.5×.
As of 1 January 2026, New York farm workers — including H-2A / foreign visa workers — are paid one and one-half times the regular rate for hours over 52 in a calendar week. That is the figure on the DOL FLFLPA page, the wages-and-hours FAQ chart, and the 19 December 2025 news release. Labor Law § 163-a still prints a 60-hour ceiling; this calculator uses 52, not 60. The threshold steps down 4 hours every other year to 40 in 2032 (48 in 2028, 44 in 2030) — labeled here, not a year toggle. Separately, Labor Law § 161 requires 24 consecutive hours of rest in every calendar week; hours the worker agrees to work on that designated rest day are overtime. Hour totals of 52 cannot see the rest day. This is not hospitality call-in, not spread-of-hours, not NYC Fair Workweek, and not domestic § 170.
52, then the rest day, and not both on the same hour
Load 53 hours in a calendar week with no rest-day work at $20. Hours worked are 53. The first 52 stay regular ($1,040). The 53rd hour is overtime at $30. Total $1,070. The ticket does not wait until 60 — § 163-a’s 60-hour sentence is labeled, not computed.
Load 40 hours including 8 hours on the designated rest day. Those 8 hours are overtime at 1.5× (Labor Law § 161 / FLFLPA: if the worker agrees to work the rest day, pay the overtime rate). The other 32 hours are under 52, so they stay regular. Total: 32 regular + 8 overtime. The DOL FAQ chart’s “and/or for any hours worked on day of rest” is treated as two triggers, not two premiums on one hour: rest-day hours are classified as overtime first; leftover regular above 52 is overtime; the same hour is not paid twice.
The schedule on the FAQ chart, for the label: 60 hours on or after 1 January 2020; 56 on or after 1 January 2024; 52 on or after 1 January 2026; 48 / 2028; 44 / 2030; 40 / 2032. Weather or crop conditions that already give 24 consecutive hours at rest count as the § 161 rest day (statute text). 12 NYCRR Part 190 was not retrieved this pass (403) and is not cited.
In scope
- 1.5× over 52 in a calendar week (DOL 2026), including H-2A
- Designated rest day + punches: those hours at 1.5×
- No double-count of the same hour as weekly OT and rest-day OT
- Phase-down schedule labeled; current math is 52
Out of scope
- Computing the § 163-a 60-hour ceiling
- NY hospitality call-in, spread-of-hours, NYC Fair Workweek, § 170 domestic
- 12 NYCRR Part 190 / CR190 (not fetched)
- Regular-rate add-ons; unemployment (H-2A excluded from UI on the FLFLPA page)
FAQ
What is the New York farm overtime threshold in 2026?
The New York State Department of Labor Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act page: effective 1 January 2026, all farm workers, including Foreign Visa workers, must be paid one and a half times the regular rate for hours worked over 52 in a calendar week. The 19 December 2025 DOL news release says the same 52-hour figure and that the threshold decreases 4 hours every other year until 40 in 2032. The wages-and-hours FAQ chart lists 52 on or after 01/01/2026, then 48/2028, 44/2030, 40/2032.
Labor Law § 163-a still says 60 hours. Which number does this calculator use?
52. Section 163-a (NY Senate, revision 17 April 2020) still states that no farm operator shall require more than sixty hours in any calendar week, with overtime at 1.5×. DOL’s 2026 implementation on the FLFLPA page and the FAQ chart is 52. This page labels the statutory 60 and does not compute it.
If a farm worker works the designated rest day, is that overtime on top of the 52-hour week?
Labor Law § 161 and the FLFLPA page: employers must provide 24 consecutive hours of rest in every calendar week; if the worker agrees to work that designated day, those hours are paid at the overtime rate. The DOL wages-and-hours FAQ chart says overtime for hours over the weekly threshold and/or for any hours worked on day of rest. This calculator pays rest-day hours at 1.5× first, then leftover regular hours above 52 at 1.5×. The same hour is not counted as both weekly OT and rest-day OT. A weekly hour total of 52 cannot see the rest day — pick the designated day and enter punches.
Does this cover H-2A workers? Is it the same as New York hospitality or domestic overtime?
The FLFLPA page states all farm workers, including Foreign Visa workers. It is not 12 NYCRR 146-1.5 hospitality call-in, not 146-1.6 spread-of-hours, not NYC Fair Workweek, and not Labor Law § 170 domestic workers.
