The U.S. Division of Labor has revealed within the Federal Register a closing rule to amend H-2A momentary labor certification rules it says will “shield agricultural staff higher.” It additionally updates the H-2A software and momentary labor certification course of.
After the division proposed modifications to the H-2A program’s rules in a Discover of Proposed Rulemaking in July 2019, employers, employer associations, brokers, enterprise advocacy teams, state businesses, federal and state elected officers, employee advocates, labor unions, public coverage and tutorial organizations, farmworkers and others submitted tens of 1000’s of feedback. The ultimate rule will turn out to be efficient on Nov. 14, 2022.
“By bettering H-2A program rules, we’re strengthening employee protections, assembly our core mission,” stated Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, including that the brand new rule makes a number of enhancements to reinforce the integrity of the H-2A program and supply employers and different stakeholders better readability.
The brand new rule consists of the next necessary components:
- Improves security and well being protections for staff housed in rental or public lodging.
- Streamlines and updates bond necessities for labor contractors to higher maintain them accountable and clarifies joint-employer standing for employers and associations.
- Clarifies the housing certification course of to permit state and native authorities to conduct housing inspections.
- Establishes specific authority to debar attorneys and brokers for his or her misconduct, unbiased of an employer’s violations.
- Makes digital submitting necessary for many purposes to enhance employers’ processing effectivity.
- Modernizes the methodology and procedures for figuring out the prevailing wage to permit state workforce businesses to provide extra prevailing wage findings.
The modifications within the closing rule may also assist the enforcement capabilities of the division’s Wage and Hour Division to deal with H-2A program fraud and abuse that undermines staff’ rights and hurts law-abiding employers.
All through the U.S., Wage and Hour Division violations of H-2A rules and restoration of again wages have elevated considerably over the previous 5 years. In 2021, the Wage and Hour Division discovered H-2A violations in 358 circumstances and picked up greater than $5.8 million in again wages for greater than 7,000 staff.
