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
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
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
Agricultural employers are often at the mercy of nature which causes constant fluctuations in labor needs. Given the unique nature of the agricultural industry, their workers have historically been exempt from minimum wage...more
Though confined to the issue of overtime for farm laborers, a recent ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) serves as a warning to all employers about the pitfalls presented by the disparities between...more
On March 15, 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that the “agricultural” exemption to the Massachusetts Overtime Law, M.G.L. c. 151, § 1A, does not apply to workers who perform post-harvesting activities. ...more
A federal appeals court just announced a sweeping change for agricultural employers that will make it easier for workers to bring discrimination claims against them under a joint employment theory. In last week’s EEOC v....more
Joining California and New York, New Jersey has become the third state with a phased-in $15 minimum wage requirement for most employees. On February 4, 2019, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law A15 (“Law”), which raises the...more
If you plan to employ anyone under 18 years old for the summer, you should be thoroughly familiar with the child-labor limitations prescribed under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act....more
President-elect Trump’s winery in Charlottesville, Virginia recently filed visa applications with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The winery said it will need six workers to prune grape vines six days a week , with a pay...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: After certifying a class of Haitian blueberry pickers who asserted Title VII discrimination claims, Judge James Moody of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued a sua sponte order...more
On August 31, the Ninth Circuit continued its trend of certifying “no injury” classes, this time in the context of an Agricultural Workers’ Protection Act claim that a Washington state fruit and vegetable farm violated the...more
On August 25, 2016, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council published in the Federal Register its highly anticipated Final Rule regarding the so-called "blacklisting" procedures for federal contractors President...more
The U.S. Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division (DOL) issued guidance from its administrator in late January, espousing a broad view of joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The guidance, issued in...more
The start of the New Year has brought about a flurry of federal administrative agency activity, including guidance from the Department of Labor (DOL) on the joint employer standard to be used for wage and hour matters, as...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued guidance warning employers that ''joint employment'' has become more common in light of the growing variety of business models and labor arrangements in today's economy....more
Under the Obama administration, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has aggressively enforced and interpreted the federal wage and hour laws. Consistent with that approach, on Wednesday January 20, 2016, the Department of...more
The U.S. Labor Department has taken the next step in its nearly-six-year-old "fissured industries" initiative by releasing Administrator Interpretation No. 2016-1, dealing with concepts of "joint employment" under the...more
The Department of Labor's Wage & Hour Division (WHD) has issued an Administrator's Interpretation (AI) establishing new standards for determining joint employment under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the...more
The expansive interpretation of meal and rest break regulations continues in Washington State, as the state's highest court ruled in Demetrio v. Sakuma Brothers Farms, Inc., Case No. 90932-6 (Wash. Sup. Ct. July 16, 2015),...more