Bicameral New York Bill Would Replace Cannabis Labor Peace Requirements With Wage Board, Pay Transparency Rules
- The proposed New York bill aims to remove cannabis labor peace agreement requirements from licensing and instead introduce pay transparency rules and a Cannabis Industry Wage Board to recommend minimum wages for marijuana workers.
- Senate Bill 10643 and its Assembly companion, Assembly Bill 11562, seek to amend state Cannabis and Labor Laws by eliminating labor peace agreement clauses tied to marijuana business licensing and registration.
- The bill mandates applicants to disclose full ownership structures, management service agreements, and detailed pay ranges and work hours for each job title, with reports published on the Office of Cannabis Management’s website.
- A three-member Cannabis Industry Wage Board would be established to hold public hearings and, by the end of 2027, provide minimum wage recommendations for various cannabis industry roles, with the wage-related provisions effective from January 31, 2027.
A bicameral New York bill filed yesterday would remove cannabis labor peace agreement requirements from licensing and replace them with pay transparency rules and a Cannabis Industry Wage Board tasked with recommending minimum wages for marijuana workers.
Senate Bill 10643, filed by State Senator Jessica Ramos (D), was introduced June 1 and referred to the Senate Rules Committee. The companion measure, Assembly Bill 11562, was filed the same day by Assemblymember Harry Bronson (D) and referred to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.
The legislation would amend New York’s Cannabis Law and Labor Law “in relation to labor peace agreements and the cannabis wage industry board.”
Under current law, labor peace agreements have been tied to licensing and registration requirements for certain marijuana businesses. The bill would remove several of those provisions, including language requiring certain applicants to enter into a labor peace agreement with a bona fide labor organization as an ongoing material condition of certification, registration or licensure.
The proposal would also remove language allowing regulators to deny renewal, suspend or terminate a registration based on a business violating or ending a labor peace agreement. It would also remove language requiring state regulators, when reviewing licensees with substantial market share, to consider labor peace agreement violations alongside New York labor law violations.
In place of those provisions, the bill would require applicants and renewal applicants to provide the Cannabis Control Board with their full ownership structure, any management service agreements and the full ownership structure of the company providing those services.
The report, which would be made public on the Office of Cannabis Management’s website, would also need to include the salary or hourly pay range offered for each job title, along with the average number of hours scheduled or offered for each position.
The bill would also establish a Cannabis Industry Wage Board within the state Department of Labor. The three-member board would include one representative of New York’s licensed marijuana industry, one representative of the New York State AFL-CIO and one public member appointed by the labor commissioner to serve as chair.
The wage board would be required to hold its first hearing no later than March 1, 2027, and hold at least three public hearings. Spanish-language interpretation would be required at each hearing, with other language access provided when practicable.
By Dec. 31, 2027, the board would be required to submit a report to the governor and Legislature with recommendations on minimum hourly wages for workers in cultivation, processing and packaging, distribution, and retail and delivery. The board could also recommend wages for additional categories of marijuana workers, an industrywide minimum wage or determine that wages in the industry are already adequate.
Most of the measure would take effect immediately, while the pay reporting and wage board provisions would take effect Jan. 31, 2027.