The Department of Labor (DOL) announced its H-2A Transition Plan for updating its Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system based on the preliminary injunction (known as the Kansas Order) issued by the U.S. District...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has decided to delay updating its Foreign Labor Application Gateway, or FLAG, case processing system to implement revised H-2A job order and application forms for the new 2024 Farmworkers...more
One of the most pressing issues facing seasonal businesses continues to be labor – specifically how to secure reliable employees to fill seasonal and permanent needs. Advertising does not always work and if you are lucky...more
The U.S. Department of Labor just released a final rule that will expand employment protections for farmworkers in the H-2A visa program and enhance the agency’s capabilities to monitor and enforce program compliance. The DOL...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its new immigration-related fines/penalties, effective January 15, 2024. Immigration-related violations before the DOL involve these visas: H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B. These increases...more
In early 2020, Alco Harvesting, LLC hired Jesus Guzman, a citizen of Mexico, to perform agricultural work in Santa Maria under the H-2A visa program. The H-2A visa program allows employers to hire foreign nationals to engage...more
Our Agricultural Legislative & Public Policy Team examines another pair of proposed rules that would reform the H-2A program....more
Following reports of competing bills in the House and Senate, the U.S. government is potentially headed for a shutdown, which would begin on October 1, 2023, the beginning of the 2024 fiscal year. This would directly affect...more
Yesterday the First Circuit handed down a notable decision in Maine Forest Products Council v. Cormier, a case in which my firm represented the plaintiffs-appellees. In MFPC, plaintiffs challenged a state law barring...more
It’s hard to believe, but it is already time to start planning for your labor needs for Spring 2023. As we know, finding, hiring, developing, and retaining adequate labor resources are some of the most vexing challenges for...more
In December 2021, Congressional Democrats tried to include immigration reforms in the Build Back Better Act (BBBA). Some of the proposals would have helped unauthorized immigrants by providing those eligible with parole and...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
Adding to the burden on employers leveraging the H-2 visa, the Department of State just published its own proposed rule outlining that this H-category of visa fees will jump from $190 to $310. This mimics additional burdens...more
The Department of Labor recently announced a proposal to change the methodology of the hourly Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for temporary nonimmigrant agricultural workers in the H-2A Program for all occupations other than...more
What will the Department of Labor’s new proposal changing the methodology used to set the adverse effect wage rate in the H-2A visa program mean to agricultural employers? Members of our Agricultural Legislative & Public...more
The DE OFCCP Week in Review (WIR) is a simple, fast and direct summary of relevant happenings in the OFCCP regulatory environment, authored by experts John C. Fox, Candee Chambers and Jennifer Polcer. In today’s edition, they...more
This month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed course and held that the arbitration agreement signed by a H-2A temporary farm worker was valid and enforceable. This decision is instructive for California employers on...more
A west coast federal appeals court just opened the door for H-2A employers to enforce arbitration agreements in employment disputes even outside the context of a collective bargaining agreement. The Ninth Circuit Court of...more
The H-2B temporary non-agricultural worker visa programs has traditionally been the “go to” visa option for employers seeking to hire foreign nationals coming to the United States to fill non-professional or non-degreed...more
On November 5, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor published a Final Rule regarding the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) applying to the H-2A program, titled “Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of...more
Due to the continuation of the COVID-19 national emergency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has decided to continue its temporary loosening of H-2A rules to make it easier to employ temporary, seasonal agricultural...more
COVID-19 has caused significant disruptions in every aspect of our daily lives. Several policies have been enacted, affecting millions of foreign national workers, both in the U.S. and abroad, along with the businesses that...more
In light of the impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. labor market, on Monday President Trump tweeted “I will be issuing a temporary suspension of immigration into the United States.” Yesterday, the President signed an Executive...more
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, easing immigration for agricultural workers....more
The plaintiff, an agricultural laborer, brought suit against his employer who, in turn, moved to compel arbitration based on the arbitration agreement in the parties’ employment contract. The plaintiff opposed, successfully...more