#WorkforceWednesday: SCOTUS in Review, Biden Acts to Limit Non-Competes, NY HERO Act Model Safety Plans - Employment Law This Week®
#WorkforceWednesday: Mandatory Vaccination, Tipped Worker Rule, and SCOTUS Rules Against Organized Labor - Employment Law This Week®
As of September 24, 2024, Governor Newsom has signed Senate Bill (SB) 1105, which expands existing paid sick leave provisions to allow agricultural employees to use paid sick leave for additional reasons. These changes take...more
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
The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C., could impact your business....more
Seventeen states joined in a suit in June to block the Department of Labor (DOL) from enforcing its new rule providing more protections to farmworkers employed as H-2A temporary visa holders. Now, Judge Lisa Godbey Wood of...more
A federal judge in Georgia just blocked the Department of Labor’s “Farmworker Protection Rule” for employers in 17 states, providing a measure of relief for many agricultural employers but throwing many others into a state of...more
Want to know more about the 2025 H-2A Visa Program? Besides reading the below deep dive, you can register for our September 10 webinar, where we'll discuss the 2025 process, employer obligations and compliance requirements,...more
The Supreme Court’s recent landmark ruling that gives employers a powerful tool to fight back against regulatory overreach will have a broad impact on just about every area of workplace law – and every industry. We’re looking...more
With California once again expecting extreme heat conditions this summer, state officials are ramping up efforts to protect agricultural workers by punishing employers who don’t comply with heat standards. The state is...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
California employers in the agriculture industry are facing challenges this spring after two major developments last month. First, new rules took effect requiring employers to provide a special written notice to H-2A...more
In February 2024, California State Senator Dave Cortese introduced Senate Bill (SB) 1299. The bill would add section 3212.81 to the California Labor Code to establish a workers’ compensation presumption related to heat...more
A federal judge in New York recently cast doubt on the validity of state laws that seek to restrict employer speech in connection with union organizing. In New York State Vegetable Growers Association, Inc. v. Letitia James,...more
Effective January 1, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) expands its electronic recordkeeping and reporting requirements for certain employers in designated industries. The regulation, “Improve...more
Since 2011, the Wage Theft Prevention Act has required California employers to provide certain written information to new employees at the time of hiring and within seven days of any change. The Labor Commissioner provides a...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
The H-2A program plays a significant role in supporting the agricultural industry in the United States, including North Carolina. The program is instrumental because domestic labor often falls short in meeting the demands for...more
Our Agricultural Legislative & Public Policy Team examines another pair of proposed rules that would reform the H-2A program....more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that it is working to update and improve the protections available to H-2A workers. The proposed changes would include both worker protection measures and compliance and...more
Every five years, the United States Congress considers an omnibus farm bill that shapes agricultural policy and the agribusiness landscape in America. In the 2018 Farm Bill, Congress authorized approximately $867 billion...more
On June 1, 2023, a panel of judges for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that berry distributors were not liable as “client-employers” of agricultural workers. The plaintiff agricultural workers...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...more
Puerto Rico’s second automatic increase in the minimum wage is July 1, 2023, from $8.50 per hour to $9.50 per hour. With limited exceptions, this increase will apply to all non-exempt employees covered by the Fair Labor...more
Governor Newsom recently signed a bill into law clarifying that a single alternative to the traditional secret ballot method – an alternative known as the “card check” election – may be used for unions to organize at...more
Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 113 which enacts changes to the collective bargaining process for agricultural workers. In September 2022 Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2183 which established new ways for...more