June 2024 - 16

LABOR
NEWH-2A WORKER
W ILL S T AR T THIS YEAR
PROTECTIONS
T
he Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule
on H-2A temporary worker protections that include
allowing employees to invite labor and legal
organizations to employer-provided housing.
The rule, " Improving Protections for Workers in
Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States, "
becomes effective June 28, 2024, although any H-2A
applications filed before Aug. 28 will be covered by
current regulations.
The new rule protects workers' choice to engage in selforganization
and to decline attending employer-sponsored
" captive audience " meetings where employers discourage
workers from joining unions.
" This rule ensures farmworkers employed through
the H-2A program are treated fairly, have a voice in their
workplace and are able to perform their work safely, "
Julie Su, acting labor secretary, said in a statement.
FARM GROUP DISSENT
Michael Marsh, president and CEO of the National Council
of Agricultural Employers, said in a news release that the
rule " was developed in complete bad faith. "
The DOL rule goes against a June 2021 U.S. Supreme
Court decision (Cedar Point, et al, v. Haddid), in which the
Court found that a regulation providing union activists'
access to farms and ranches was unconstitutional -
basically a " physical taking, " according to the NCAE.
" Shockingly, under this new rule, the (DOL) asserts that
unionization of H-2A Temporary Agricultural workers is not
preempted by the laws passed by Congress, " according to
the NCAE release.
The rule contradicts specific exclusions of agricultural
laborers under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935,
according to the NCAE.
The U.S. Farm Bureau Federation said the rule's 600
pages of regulations comes with excessive compliance
costs, while disregarding privacy concerns for farmers
and their employees.
The DOL has issued 3,000 pages of new regulations in
18 months, burying farmers and other H-2A employers in
a mountain of regulations, according to a Farm Bureau
news release.
" Farmers appreciate the men and women who work on
their farms, and we don't take lightly the responsibility
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JUNE 2024 GPNMAG.COM
to ensure their safety and protection, " Zippy Duvall, Farm
Bureau Federation president, said in a statement. " We
wholeheartedly support clamping down on labor abuses,
but this rule instead assumes all farmers are guilty until
proven innocent, and that's not right. "
According to the NCAE, 5% of agricultural
employers account for 95% of violations found during
DOL investigations.
In comments to the DOL in November 2023,
AmericanHort reported " profound concerns " with most
of the regulations in the proposed rule that will go into
effect this year. Matt Mika, vice president of advocacy and
governmental affairs, also said Congress explicitly meant
to exempt agricultural employees from protections and
penalties of the NLRA.
" It strikes us that what the department now proposes
goes against Congress' legislative intent, " according to
Mika's testimony. " Congress spoke as to what the executive
(branch) could do when it comes to agricultural workers,
and they are exempt from the provisions of the NLRA. "
OTHER PROVISIONS IN THE RULE
According to the DOL, the new protections also include:
Clarifying " for cause " termination - Sets conditions
that must be met, in most cases, including the transparent
application of a system of progressive discipline.
Transparency in foreign labor recruitment - Adds
disclosure requirements to improve foreign worker
recruitment chain transparency, to help protect workers
from exploitation and abuse.
Timely wage changes for H-2A workers - The H-2A
hourly pay rates, known as the Adverse Effect Wage Rate,
will go into effect on the date of their publication in the
Federal Register.
Transportation safety - If a vehicle is required by
federal regulations to be manufactured with seat belts,
employees must use seatbelts in vehicles provided by
employers to and from fields/work sites.
Labor exploitation and human trafficking prevention -
Employers are prohibited from holding or confiscating a
worker's passport, visa or other identification documents.
Employer accountability - Updates procedures for
discontinuing employment services for employers that
fail to meet DOL requirements.
http://www.GPNMAG.COM
June 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2024
