Agriculture, Labor & Employment Law

Introduction of A New Agricultural Guestworker Bill

by Florian Dauny | Fowler White Boggs P.A. on 5/6/2013

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) introduced on April 26, 2013 the Agricultural Guestworker “AG” Act (H.R. 1773) a bill to provide American farmers with a workable temporary agricultural guestworker...more

H-2B Adjudication Resumed

by Yova Borovska | Fowler White Boggs P.A. on 4/30/2013

As previously reported, on March 22, 2013, USCIS temporarily suspended adjudication of most H-2B petitions while the government considered appropriate action in response to the Court Order in Comite de Apoyo a los...more

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Provides Opportunities for President, Republicans, High-Tech Companies, Labor Unions

by Stephen Roberts, Steven Valentine | K&L Gates LLP on 4/3/2013

With the current Congressional focus on discretionary spending and revenue issues surrounding Sequestration, it may seem like little attention can be paid to other policy reforms. In comprehensive immigration reform,...more

IMMIGRATION CLIENT ALERT: Congress Seeks to Reform Agricultural Worker Visas

by Shaoul Aslan, Kristin Wells | Patton Boggs LLP on 3/26/2013

For nearly two decades, Capitol Hill has debated ways to provide a stable workforce for American farmers through immigration reform. Proposals have largely targeted reforms to the H-2A nonimmigrant visa program, which gives...more

Preparing For Seasonal Agricultural Labor

by Kimberly A. Clarke | Varnum LLP on 3/7/2013

The U.S. government's expected focus on immigration and employment law enforcement in 2013 will continue to significantly impact agricultural employers. In 2012, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security...more

Immigration Alert: Immigration Reform Discussions Underway in Washington

by Shaoul Aslan, Kristin Wells | Patton Boggs LLP on 2/25/2013

In the weeks since President Obama and the Senate’s bipartisan Gang of Eight both announced their set of principles for comprehensive immigration reform, a heightened debate of how reform will come to fruition has taken hold...more

Immigration Reform: Comparing the Senate Proposal with the White House Proposal

by Diane M. Butler | Lane Powell PC - Immigration Law on 2/1/2013

This week, both President Obama and the Senate announced frameworks for comprehensive immigration reform. The following is a comparison of key elements in each of the plans....more

EEOC Joins With Louisiana State and Federal Agencies to Promote Farmworker Job Rights

by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 1/31/2013

Agencies to Help Farmers Comply With State and Federal Employment Laws - NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Field Office of the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will join with two other federal...more

2013 New H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) and New Prevailing Wage Rates for Certain Occupations Processed Under H-2A Special...

by Yova Borovska | Fowler White Boggs P.A. on 1/18/2013

The Department of Labor has published a notice in the Federal Register announcing new Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) for each state based on the Farm Labor Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The AEWRs...more

Employees Working Off Site Can Still Qualify For FLSA's Agricultural Exemption, 11th Circuit Rules

by Michael Cardman | XpertHR - Partnered with LexisNexis on 1/10/2013

The overtime exemption for agricultural employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies not only to farmers working the land but also to other types of workers employed in conjunction with farming operations, even...more

Hamilton Growers to Pay $500,000 to Settle EEOC Race/National Origin Discrimination Lawsuit

by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 12/15/2012

ATLANTA - Hamilton Growers, Inc., doing business as Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable, Inc., an agricultural farm in Norman Park, Ga., has agreed to pay $500,000 to a class of American seasonal workers - many of them...more

EEOC Seeks to Protect Vulnerable Farm Workers from Harassment

by XpertHR - Partnered with LexisNexis on 10/19/2012

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has recently been pursuing the protection of farm workers from discrimination and harassment in employment. For example, just recently the EEOC filed suit against Roy...more

What the Lame Duck Will Look Like if Democrats Retain the White House

by King & Spalding on 10/10/2012

If President Obama is reelected, expect Democrats to argue that they have a mandate to extend certain of the tax breaks for those making under $250,000 while letting the tax cuts expire for those on the upper income end. In...more

“An Intentionally Tough Law”: Employment Rights Lost by “Responsibly Connected” Individuals When Their PACA-Licensed Companies...

by Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 10/8/2012

The Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act of 1930 (“PACA”)1 is deservedly renowned for its provisions creating a statutory trust on sold perishable commodities, and the products and revenues thereof. See 7 U.S.C. §499e. The...more

McAfee & Taft AgLINC Agriculture & Equine Industry Newsletter - July 2012: Avoiding hidden liabilities with employee housing...

by McAfee & Taft on 7/20/2012

Farms and ranches of various sizes often provide their employees with some form of housing in addition to the wages they are paid. Little thought typically goes into the legal status of the housing arrangement. This is...more

The ERISA Litigation Newsletter - July 2012

by Proskauer Rose LLP on 7/18/2012

In This Issue: - Editor's Overview - PPACA Victory Sets The Stage For New Wave of Litigation - Treatment of Deferred Compensation Arrangements as ERISA Plans…Or Not - Rulings, Filings, and Settlements of...more

McAfee & Taft AgLINC - Summer 2012

by McAfee & Taft on 7/17/2012

Inside This Issue: - The Equal Access to Justice Act: A valuable tool for farmers in crop insurance disputes - Avoiding hidden liabilities with employee housing agreements - H-2A workers: A solution to farm labor...more

Employer Handbook - Hiring Children

by Looper Reed & McGraw, P.C. on 6/26/2012

Who, What, Why . . . Who does it apply to: Virtually all business owners hiring individuals under the age of 18. What is the minimum age to hire: There is a lot of variation about the minimum age to hire and there...more

Labor Department Abandons Updated Child Labor Laws for the Agricultural Industry

by Jackson Walker on 5/4/2012

When you think of summer jobs for youth in rural communities, several things may come to mind. You probably imagine a young woman rounding up cattle to send to auction. It is also likely that you imagine a young man baling...more

California Implements Significant Changes to the Agricultural Labor Relations Act

by Littler on 2/23/2012

Effective January 1, 2012, California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Act (ALRA) was amended in ways that will likely help unions to organize agricultural employees in California and obtain favorable labor contracts...more

DOL Announces Re-Proposal of Child Labor Parental Exemption

by Varnum LLP on 2/2/2012

The Department of Labor ("DOL") announced that it will re-propose the "parental exemption" portion of its September 2011 proposed agricultural child labor regulations. Many Congressmen and agricultural industry...more

H-2A and H-2B Visas Open Up for 2012

by Ronald Shapiro on 1/27/2012

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (the “USCIS”) recently announced that citizens from 53 different countries will be eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs this year. The H-2A program...more

Tips on How to Avoid a Finding of Joint Employer Status under MSPA

by McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC on 6/22/2011

Under the MSPA, an employer could be held responsible for an independent contractor's violations of the MSPA, if the employer is considered a "joint employer" of the contractor's workers. Therefore, the stakes are very high...more

EB-2 Visas for China and India Move Five Months and Other Immigration Law Updates

by Duane Morris LLP on 6/22/2011

In This Issue: July Visa Bulletin; EB-2 for China and India Move Five Months; Supreme Court Upholds Arizona's E-Verify Requirement; Supreme Court Remands Hazelton Immigration Law Challenge to Third Circuit; Alabama Enacts...more

Ontario v. Fraser - The Supreme Court of Canada Significantly Narrows the Scope of the Constitutional Protection of Collective...

by Heenan Blaikie LLP on 4/30/2011

Earlier today, the Supreme Court of Canada released a landmark ruling in Ontario (Attorney General) v. Fraser, 2011 SCC 20 (“Fraser“), concluding that Ontario’s Agricultural Employees Protection Act, 2002 (“AEPA“) is...more

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Agriculture › Labor & Employment Law