BUFFALO, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – Two agricultural organizations allege New York's Farm Labor Practices Act violates the 14th Amendment and that farms "will be unable to comply with its demands on day one."
The New York State Vegetable Growers Association Inc. and Northeast Dairy Producers Association Inc., filed a complaint Dec. 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and others seeking declaratory and injunctive relief.
The plaintiffs allege that New York's enforcement of its Farm Labor Practices Act, which grants farm laborers collective bargaining rights, certain hours of work and overtime pay beginning this year, is preempted by federal law. They claim the Act will have a "harsh economic impact" on farmers and are challenging the Act's definition of "farm labor."
The plaintiffs seek injunctive, monetary and all other just relief. They are represented by Charles Palmer, Leah Ziemba and Ian Pitz of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP in Waukesha and Madison, Wisconsin and in Buffalo, New York and by Dennis Vacco and Scott Allen Jr. of Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman in Buffalo, New York.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York case number 1:19-CV-01720-LJV