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KORI BIRCHENOUGH has joined the Family Chiropractic Office. Dr. Birchenough earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Binghamton University and earned her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from New York Chiropractic College (now called Northeast College of Health Sciences) in Seneca Falls. She is continuing her education and working toward becoming a certified chiropractic sports practitioner. […]
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KORI BIRCHENOUGH has joined the Family Chiropractic Office. Dr. Birchenough earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Binghamton University and earned her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from New York Chiropractic College (now called Northeast College of Health Sciences) in Seneca Falls. She is continuing her education and working toward becoming a certified chiropractic sports practitioner. She practiced for three years in Boston and several years in Syracuse.
VIEWPOINT: New York State Lowers Overtime Threshold for Agricultural Workers
On Sept. 30, 2022, New York State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon announced that she has accepted the New York Farm Laborers Wage Board’s recommendation to lower the overtime threshold for agricultural workers from 60 hours down to 40 hours. During its Sept. 6, 2022 meeting, the board voted 2-1 in favor of submitting its report
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On Sept. 30, 2022, New York State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon announced that she has accepted the New York Farm Laborers Wage Board’s recommendation to lower the overtime threshold for agricultural workers from 60 hours down to 40 hours. During its Sept. 6, 2022 meeting, the board voted 2-1 in favor of submitting its report recommending a 10-year phase in schedule for a 40-hour threshold. The overtime threshold will be reduced by four hours every two years beginning on Jan. 1, 2024 until it reaches 40 hours in the year 2032.
Additionally, the state will reimburse farmers for the overtime premium as the threshold drops in an effort to offset any adverse financial effects of the threshold. However, the tax credit will only be for the extra cost of the overtime wage, not the hourly rate. According to the State Division of Budget, the overtime credit is expected to cost
$184 million from 2024-2027. By the time the 40-hour work week is fully implemented in 2032, the cost will increase to about $153 million annually.
New York follows in the footsteps of California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii, all of which have lowered the overtime threshold to 40 hours for agricultural workers. Advocates of the decrease in the overtime threshold believe the decision is a win for agricultural workers who have historically been excluded from federal overtime-pay provisions. Whereas critics believe the decision has the potential to negatively impact the viability and financial well-being of family farms in the state.
The New York State Department of Labor [is now going through] a rule-making process which will include a 60-day public comment period. We will continue to monitor the rule-making process and provide any additional updates as they become available.
Patrick V. Melfi is a member (partner) in the Syracuse office of Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC. He is a labor and employment law attorney and co-chair of the firm’s occupational safety and health law practice. Contact Melfi at pmelfi@bsk.com. Gianelle M. Duby is an associate in Bond’s Syracuse office. She assists clients in a wide range of labor and employment matters, including drafting employment-related contracts and policies, researching the latest developments in New York labor and employment law, and assisting in the preparation and resolution of pending litigation and arbitrations. Contact Duby at gduby@bsk.com. This article is drawn and edited from the law firm’s New York Labor and Employment Law Report.

The Business Council adds Vazquez to government affairs team
ALBANY, N.Y. — The Business Council of New York State, Inc. recently added a new member to its government affairs team, The statewide business-advocacy organization announced on Sept. 27 that Mario Vazquez has come aboard as assistant director of government affairs. He formerly served as chief administrator at Excelsior Advisors and as a previous legislative
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ALBANY, N.Y. — The Business Council of New York State, Inc. recently added a new member to its government affairs team,
The statewide business-advocacy organization announced on Sept. 27 that Mario Vazquez has come aboard as assistant director of government affairs. He formerly served as chief administrator at Excelsior Advisors and as a previous legislative aide to Assemblymember Marcos Crespo.
In his role at The Business Council, Vazquez will be assisting with all of the membership organization’s legislative-advocacy initiatives.
“I am excited to be joining The Business Council, as its membership is diverse and ever-growing, which includes small MWBEs to Fortune 500 companies,” Vazquez said in a release. “I look forward to being the newest advocate for The Business Council and to help further create an environment where we can grow and create jobs for the people of New York.”
Vazquez is a Capital Region native, growing up in Schodack and holds an associate degree from Hudson Valley Community College and a bachelor’s degree from the University at Albany.
“Mario Vazquez is a terrific addition and the right fit to The Business Council’s hard-working Government Affairs staff,” Paul Zuber, executive VP of The Business Council, contended. “Mario has the ideal background in the state legislature to make the necessary connections to further engage lawmakers on the important business issues to The Business Council and our members.”
Vazquez started in his new position at The Business Council on Sept. 19.

Fomer Oneida city chamberlain arrested for stealing nearly $79K in city funds
ONEIDA, N.Y. — A former Oneida city chamberlain was recently arrested for allegedly stealing almost $79,000 from the city over the course of 14 years. Nancy Andrews, 77, was arrested and charged with grand larceny, corrupting the government, falsifying business records, and tampering with public records, according to an Oct. 19 announcement from state Comptroller
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ONEIDA, N.Y. — A former Oneida city chamberlain was recently arrested for allegedly stealing almost $79,000 from the city over the course of 14 years.
Nancy Andrews, 77, was arrested and charged with grand larceny, corrupting the government, falsifying business records, and tampering with public records, according to an Oct. 19 announcement from state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Madison County District Attorney William G. Gabor, and the New York State Police.
Officials accuse Andrews of stealing $78,881.55 in tax, water, and sewer payments made in cash between 2012 and 2020 and concealing the thefts by applying one property owner’s payment to another. She allegedly spent the funds on social outings and pull-tab games at the American Legion Hall in Oneida, according to a news release from the comptroller’s office. She served as the city’s chamberlain from 1998 until her term expired in 2021.
Andrews was arraigned in Oneida City Court before Judge Michael J. Misiaszek and is due back in court on Nov. 10.
“For over a decade, Andrews allegedly betrayed her office and the trust of her community to fund her social life and gamble with public money,” DiNapoli said. “This was a blatant abuse of her office and an affront to Oneida taxpayers.”
Gabor said the district attorney’s office will aggressively prosecute the case as an alleged violation of public trust by an elected official.
“Public officials are rightly held to a higher standard, and there must be a higher level of accountability of any proven act of stealing from taxpayers,” he said.
“We have zero tolerance for government officials who take advantage of their position to steal from taxpayers,” New York State Police Acting Superintendent Steven A. Nigrelli said. “We must continue to hold our public officials to a higher standard.”

YVEL DUROSEAU, M.D. has joined the Geneva General Hospital medical staff as a hospitalist. Dr. Duroseau attended medical school at Ross University School of Medicine in North Brunswick, New Jersey. He completed his internship and residency at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, and then continued his education
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YVEL DUROSEAU, M.D. has joined the Geneva General Hospital medical staff as a hospitalist. Dr. Duroseau attended medical school at Ross University School of Medicine in North Brunswick, New Jersey. He completed his internship and residency at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, and then continued his education with a fellowship in geriatric medicine at Bridgeport Hospital, part of the Yale New Haven Health System. He is board-certified in family medicine as well as geriatric medicine by the American Board of Family Medicine. He is also certified as a wound care specialist and in pain management. His professional society memberships include the American Academy of Family Medicine and the Global Health Initiative Program at Jamaica Hospital.

Cumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) announced that it has promoted three longtime Cumulus Syracuse radio-programming professionals to expanded roles within the company’s four-station group. Cumulus elevated RICK ROBERTS to program director and digital-content producer for heritage Top 40 station 93Q/WNTQ-FM. Roberts has been with 93Q for more than 25 years and began his career with the
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Cumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) announced that it has promoted three longtime Cumulus Syracuse radio-programming professionals to expanded roles within the company’s four-station group. Cumulus elevated RICK ROBERTS to program director and digital-content producer for heritage Top 40 station 93Q/WNTQ-FM. Roberts has been with 93Q for more than 25 years and began his career with the station while still in high school. He has been music director and afternoon personality for 93Q since 2006 and assistant program director since 2018. Roberts will continue to host afternoons on 93Q and can be heard weekdays from 3-7 p.m.
Cumulus Syracuse also promoted JOE DETOMASO, who is program director, content production manager, and midday host for alternative-rock station 95X/WAQX-FM. Now, DeTomaso expands his purview as the new program director for sports/talk station, The Score 1260/WSKO-AM. DeTomaso joined 95X in 2003 and was named program director for the station in 2011.
Cumulus Media also promoted SCOTT DIXON, who is assistant program director and afternoon host for 95X, to content production captain for the company’s all-new streaming station, The SGNL (The Signal). He will bring the AAA format to Syracuse music fans at www.sgnlsyracuse.com. Dixon, who has been with Cumulus Syracuse for 11 years, will continue in his current 95X roles as he takes on his new responsibilities at The Signal.

CARLY RANDALL has been named director of operations for Syracuse University men’s lacrosse, which is led by head coach Gary Gait. A 2017 graduate of Syracuse, Randall returns to her alma mater after most recently serving as an administrative assistant for intercollegiate athletics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. She will assume all
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CARLY RANDALL has been named director of operations for Syracuse University men’s lacrosse, which is led by head coach Gary Gait. A 2017 graduate of Syracuse, Randall returns to her alma mater after most recently serving as an administrative assistant for intercollegiate athletics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. She will assume all operations duties for the Syracuse men’s lacrosse program, including player development, scheduling, and serve as a liaison to all support staff departments, including academics, compliance, and strength and conditioning. While at MIT, Randall was responsible for managing the calendars for the several members of the senior staff in the athletic department, including the associate athletic director/senior woman administrator. Additionally, Randall handled distributing information through the FrontRush technology platform, including compliance forms, roster updates, and assistant-coach onboarding for all teams. MIT was not Randall’s first stop in Beantown as she previously served as the director of lacrosse operations at Boston University (BU) for the men’s and women’s lacrosse programs. She helped manage team schedules, itineraries, travel accommodations, meals, facilities, and expense reports. Randall was also responsible for recruiting and supervising the daily duties of team managers and was a staff liaison to team parents, the BU men’s lacrosse advisory board and athletics administration. while with the Terriers. While earning a master’s degree from Wesleyan University in 2021, Randall served as a graduate assistant with the women’s lacrosse program. Handling daily operations responsibilities, Randall helped begin recruiting communication and visit coordination, while also handling coaching duties, academic support check-ins, social media, fundraising, emails, travel accommodations, meals, and budget. Randall was a member of the Wesleyan Athletic Department Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. Hailing from Rochester, Randall earning a bachelor’s degree in education with a minor in sociology at Syracuse University. While playing for Gait, then the women’s lacrosse head coach, Randall played in 22 games and was a perennial name on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.

Cornell University gears up to build new computing and information sciences building
ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell University held a ceremony on Oct. 14 to honor the gift it received from class of 1959 graduate Ann S. Bowers

People news: FLH names Hill emergency department nurse manager
GENEVA, N.Y. — Finger Lakes Health (FLH) announced it has named Megan Hill Emergency Department nurse manager. In this position, she oversees the Brenda &

Biden visits OCC, calls Micron’s investment “one of the most significant” in American history
Micron describes itself as one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies and the only U.S.–based manufacturer of memory. “It’s the largest investment in American history
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