Federal Agencies Consider Altering H-2A Program for Temporary Ag Labor

The U.S. Department of Labor is considering a proposal to amend the H-2A Program parameters to help farmers seeking temporary labor.

Furthering the agenda to help America’s farmers, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has recently opened the door for commentary after it posted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on proposed changes to improve the H-2A temporary agricultural labor certification program.

These proposed changes, according to the U.S. DOL would modernize the Department’s H-2A regulations in a way that “is responsive to stakeholder concerns and enhances employer access to a legal source of agricultural labor, while maintaining the program’s protections for the U.S. workforce and enhancing enforcement against fraud and abuse.”

According to a press release issued Monday:

The NPRM includes several major proposals that would streamline and simplify the H-2A application process, strengthen protections for U.S. and foreign workers, and ease unnecessary burdens on employers. For example, the NPRM would streamline the H-2A application process by mandating electronic filing of job orders and applications, promoting the use of digital signatures, and providing employers with the option of staggering the entry of H-2A workers on a single application. 

The NPRM also proposes to strengthen protections for U.S. and foreign workers by enhancing standards   applicable to rental housing and public accommodations, strengthening surety bond requirements, expanding the Department’s authority to use enforcement tools like program debarment for substantial violations of program rules, and updating the methodologies used to determine the Adverse Effect Wage Rates and prevailing wages to ensure U.S. workers similarly employed are not adversely impacted. 

Finally, the NPRM would expand access to the H-2A program by revising the definition of agricultural labor or services to include employers engaged in reforestation and pine straw activities, as workers performing these services share many of the same characteristics as traditional agricultural crews. The proposal would also codify and update procedures governing the certification for job opportunities in animal shearing, custom combining, beekeeping, and reforestation.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue offered his support for the rule Monday as well:

“President Trump once again shows his commitment to helping America’s farmers, ranchers, and producers continue to be the most productive in the world by increasing their access to a stable and legal workforce. The proposed rule will increase access to a reliable legal agricultural workforce, easing unnecessary burdens on farmers, increase enforcement against fraud and abuse, all while maintaining protections for America’s workers. When this rule goes into effect, our farmers will be released from unnecessary and burdensome regulations allowing them to do what they do best.”

The Department is posting a copy of the NPRM in advance of its publication in the Federal Register. A copy of the NPRM can be found here.