Farm Labor, Pay Working It Way Through The Courts

Farm employers face a variety of challenges right now, but one of the biggest is finding adequate labor and the cost of paying it.  And when it comes to H-2A reform, Kate Tynan, Senior Vice President at the Northwest Horticultural Council, said the biggest hurdle to overcome right now is costs as well as regulatory burdens.  But she pointed out the news isn’t all bad when it comes to the U.S. Department of Labor worker protection rule issued last year.

“We now have three separate preliminary injunctions that have been imposed on DOL moving forward, with individual provisions in some cases of that rule for specific audiences," Tynan noted.  "And in other cases, actually a full preliminary injunction on the rule in its entirety.”

And moving forward, Tynan said it won’t be easy.

“It’s created an incredibly complex situation where different folks would be subject to different aspects of that rule. And we’re still seeking clarity from the Department of Labor regarding how they’re going to move forward on that. Our hope is, frankly, a full repeal, and that’s what we’re pushing for with this new administration when they come in," she said.  "Right now, the Adverse Effect Wage Rate is based on a particular number within a survey that’s conducted by USDA that essentially makes it so that you are establishing the following year’s base pay rate, based on a number that includes overtime, incentive pay, and any sort of bonus pay from the year before.”

Best-case scenario, Tynan said, would be having no survey.  Tynan said even in states with a lower AEWR, wage increases can be a big problem.

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