NY Cannabis Labor Bill Signed, Wage Board Still in Limbo

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a cannabis labor bill this week, and one of its two big pieces is already gone while the other is waiting on a promise. The mandatory labor-peace agreement for marijuana operators is repealed. The wage board, along with a new set of disclosure requirements, is still written into the law until lawmakers say otherwise.

Some headlines have said Hochul killed or rejected the bill. She didn't. She signed it on Oct. 28 and negotiated amendments to strip out the parts she objected to.

For licensees, the useful question is narrow: what binds you today, and what depends on the Legislature coming back next session?

What Hochul Actually Signed

The measure is Senate Bill 10643, signed Oct. 28 as Chapter 369 of the Laws of 2026. Its Assembly companion is A.11562. Sen. Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Harry Bronson are the sponsors.

The repeal of the mandatory labor-peace agreement requirement for marijuana operators is in effect now. That part needs no further action from anyone.

Hochul reached the deal late Wednesday with the Senate and Assembly majority leaders. The agreement pairs the signature with chapter amendments that lawmakers still have to pass.

That sequencing explains the confusion. Cannabis Equipment News described the outcome as a rejection or a kill, while MJBizDaily and the Marijuana Herald reported a signing. The signing is the accurate description. What is unfinished is the removal of the wage board, not the bill's enactment.

The Wage Board That May Never Launch

The original bill created a three-member Cannabis Industry Wage Board. Its job would have been to recommend minimum hourly wages for workers across the cannabis sector.

To feed that process, licensees would have had to hand the board their full ownership structure, plus pay ranges and work hours broken out by job title. The Office of Cannabis Management would then have posted a report on the wage data.

Here is the catch. As signed, the board and the disclosure provisions are still in the statute. Taking them out requires the Legislature to pass chapter amendments in the next session, so for now they remain on the books.

Hochul's reasoning is on the record. She wrote that the bill would create uncertainty in the industry by imposing a burdensome reporting requirement on applicants. She also said a wage board could raise costs for licensees and drive consumers to the illicit market.

That second argument is the one operators will repeat in Albany. Whether lawmakers accept it is the open question.

What Labor Peace Looks Like Now

Hochul's statement says the amendment would preserve the repeal of the labor-peace requirement in full while removing the wage component. In other words, the deal is meant to leave the repeal untouched.

Labor peace has not vanished from licensing entirely. Under the agreement, the Cannabis Control Board keeps discretion to prioritize applicants that voluntarily enter labor-peace agreements. That covers application submission, review, selection and issuance of adult-use licenses.

Other provisions are murkier. One report lists these as existing parts of the law:

• Licensees must give employee contact information to unions.
• Labor-peace disputes go to arbitration rather than the NLRB.

It is not clear whether those survive the amendments, so don't assume either way.

The Marijuana Herald mentions a January 31 implementation date. Treat it as unverified. Whatever it refers to, it would need further legislative action first.

The practical step is simple: check nysenate.gov for the bill status and, once it appears, the actual amendment text. I could not find the official chapter amendment or approval memo, so read the primary document before changing any hiring or compliance plans.

Industry Reaction and the Gotham Lawsuit

Three trade groups, the Empire Cannabis Manufacturers Alliance, the Association of New York Cannabis Processors and the Cannabis Farmers Alliance, jointly praised the decision. Safe Affordable Cannabis for New York called it a victory for small businesses and workers.

The opposition was broad before the signing. Cannabis Wire reported in August that the bill had struck a nerve with many licensees, with even some of the state's earliest cannabis supporters against it. The Times Union cited survey data showing industry pay already exceeds that of other job sectors.

Then there is the courtroom. Hybrid NYC LLC, which does business as Gotham, a licensed Brooklyn retailer, sued the OCM and the Cannabis Control Board in the Southern District of New York on April 14, 2025. It argues the labor-peace mandate is preempted by the NLRA and violates its First Amendment rights.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein declined to dismiss the case. Reports say he died Oct. 28, 2026, and proponents had hoped Hochul would sign the bill unchanged to head off a ruling striking down the mandate. I found no word on what happens to the case now.

I also found no reaction from Local 338 or the UFCW on the signing. Local 338 says it organized Gotham's workers through a traditional process and denies coercion, a dispute that sits before the NLRB.

The takeaway for licensees is to plan for two scenarios. The labor-peace mandate is gone today. The wage board and its reporting rules are law until amendments pass, so build your payroll and ownership records as if they could still apply.

Nor is the broader fight settled. The Gotham case, the NLRB proceedings and whatever unions do next could all change how workers organize in New York cannabis. Confirm current requirements with the state and a qualified attorney, since rules differ by license type and keep shifting.

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