ALBANY – Local farming advocates are voicing concerns over a new state law that gives farm workers a right to unionize, collect overtime pay, and take a day off every week.

The Farm Labor Bill signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday ensures farmhands get many of the same benefits seen in other areas of the workforce, including disability and paid family leave coverage, unemployment benefits, and one and one-half times normal rate for more than 60 hours per week. It also requires that workers get 24 consecutive hours of rest each week.

The bill takes effect Jan. 1, thereby revoking an 80-year provision that's kept such benefits out of reach for farm workers.

The governor said Wednesday that the new law is “not just a great achievement in terms of the effect on the human condition; it's also a milestone in the crusade for social justice.”

But naysayers argue the legislation comes at a hefty price, including the possible altogether loss of work for the employees it's supposed to help.