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Below you'll see everything we could locate for your search of “H-2A”
Two U.S. House of Representatives committee chairs recently sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) asking it to evaluate the effectiveness of the H-2A visa program. The letter was sent by Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx of North Carolina and Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania. The H-2A visa program, widely used in agriculture, …
The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) and nine co-plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit contesting the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) recently finalized H-2A rule. The challengers allege unconstitutional regulatory overreach and limitations on the freedom of speech of farmers who employ temporary workers. The co-plaintiffs are American Farm Bureau Federation, AmericanHort, Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association, Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, …
A federal judge in Georgia on Aug. 26 blocked a federal rule allowing migrant farmworkers to join unions in 17 states. The ruling prevents the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from enforcing the new rule. The rule would have prevented agricultural employers from retaliating against migrant workers with H-2A temporary work visas for joining labor unions and organizing against wage …
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule to strengthen protections for farmworkers. The rule targets vulnerability and abuses experienced by workers under the H-2A program. The H-2A program allows employers to hire temporary foreign agricultural workers. Among other things, the final rule: The final rule is effective on June 28, 2024. However, H-2A applications filed before Aug. 28, 2024, …
Sixteen U.S. senators recently introduced a bill to revert the H-2A program’s adverse effect wage rate (AEWR) to the December 2023 rate through the end of the 2025 growing season. Two of the senators who introduced the Supporting Farm Operations Act of 2024 are from citrus-producing states — Rick Scott of Florida and John Cornyn of Texas. A majority of …
Seventy-five U.S. House of Representatives members have asked House and Senate appropriations leaders for an H-2A visa guestworker wage freeze in an upcoming spending package. The text of the representatives’ letter to appropriations leaders follows: “We write with shared concerns regarding the annual adjustment to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR). Now in 2024, the H-2A labor rates paid by …
The National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) has petitioned Acting Department of Labor Secretary Julie Su to amend the regulatory methodology for determining adverse effect wage rates in the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program. “America’s farm and ranch families and American consumers continue to bear the brunt of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) misuse of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s …
Florida’s adverse effect wage rate (AEWR), the minimum wage for H-2A agricultural workers, is estimated to climb 3% in 2024. Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) reported the new Florida AEWR is estimated to be $14.77 per hour. Georgia’s AEWR is expected to rise 7%. Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) reported Georgia’s new AEWR is estimated to be …
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Sept. 12 proposed a new rule that would strengthen protections for temporary foreign farmworkers in the H-2A program. This is the third proposed regulation tied specifically to the H-2A program in the last year. It follows the final DOL rule published in October 2022 that modernized key aspects of the H-2A program and …
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) fees for petition-based non-immigrant visas for H-2A temporary foreign workers will increase on June 17, Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) reported. The final rule from DOS will increase the H-2A visa fees by 7.9%, from $190 to $205, less than DOS originally proposed in 2022. In its original proposal, DOS would have increased …
Bipartisan members of Congress led by Representatives María Elvira Salazar of Florida and Veronica Escobar of Texas on May 23 introduced an updated version of the Dignity Act (H.R. 3599). The act would reform immigration laws and streamline the H-2A program for temporary foreign workers. The bill would aim to stop illegal immigration, provide a dignified solution for undocumented immigrants living in America and strengthen …
Federal legislators have followed through on previously announced plans to try to overturn the Department of Labor’s (DOL) rule to determine wages for temporary foreign agricultural workers under the H-2A program. H-2A workers harvest a majority of Florida’s citrus crop. Legislators introduced House and Senate Congressional Review Act resolutions to nullify the DOL’s adverse effect wage rates (AEWRs) methodology rule. …
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) recently spoke to South Georgia citrus growers in Ochlocknee about their needs and introduced legislation to reduce a wage-rate increase in the H-2A guestworker program. The industry’s needs include shoring-up supply chains, expanding facilities to keep up with growing demand, and strengthening research on diseases and pests that pose a unique threat to citrus. “I’m …
The 2022 H-2A program final rule was published Oct. 12 and became effective Nov. 14. The vast majority of Florida citrus is harvested by temporary foreign workers within the H-2A program, so the rule has many implications for the state’s citrus industry. Jamie Fussell, Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association director of labor relations, discussed the final rule during the Nov. …
The U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule to amend H-2A temporary labor certification regulations to better protect agricultural workers and to update the application and certification process. The final rule becomes effective Nov. 14, 2022. The H-2A program allows employers to address temporary labor needs by employing foreign agricultural workers when there are not sufficient workers who are …
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Foreign Labor Certification has provided Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) with general guidance regarding additional flexibilities for H-2A employers impacted by Hurricane Ian. Most Florida citrus is harvested by temporary H-2A workers. Following is a summary of the DOL answers to four questions about H-2A employer flexibilities due to the hurricane’s …
Florida accounted for 14% of H-2A jobs certified in 2020, making it the leading user of the temporary guest agricultural worker program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA/ERS) recently reported that Florida and five other states accounted for 55% of the certified H-2A jobs in 2020. The other large H-2A users were Georgia (10%), Washington (10%), California …
Florida Citrus Mutual recently published the following statement about comments it submitted regarding the wage rate for temporary foreign H-2A workers: “On January 31, 2022, Florida Citrus Mutual, along with many other agricultural entities nationwide, submitted comments to the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) in reference to the proposed changes to the methodology for the adverse effect wage rate …
A recent issue of the Florida Citrus Mutual Triangle newsletter provided information about the wage that growers must pay H-2A labor, effective Dec. 29. H-2A workers are foreign agricultural workers who are allowed to work in the United States temporarily. In recent years, the vast majority of Florida citrus has been harvested by H-2A workers. The Employment and Training Administration …
A federal judge has blocked the H-2A wage freeze that the Department of Labor (DOL) announced in November. The DOL decision would have kept H-2A wages at 2020 rates through 2022. Last month, United Farm Workers (UFW) and the UFW Foundation filed a suit to block the DOL rule. U.S. District Judge Dale Drozd granted the injunction preventing DOL from …
