Federal Judge Rejects USDA Changes to H-2A Program

A federal court in California issued a preliminary injunction against the Labor Department’s decision to freeze farm workers’ wages for those that use the H-2A Program. Fruit and Nut Grower News said the freeze would effectively lower the wages of several hundred thousand guest farm workers employed in the United States. A preliminary injunction was issued in federal court in Fresno, CA, in a lawsuit filed by the United Farm Workers and the UFW Foundation, with both groups represented by Farm worker Justice. The new regulation was to take effect on December 21^st and regulate wages beginning in January.

A Farmworker news release said the Labor Department estimated that H-2A guest workers would lose wages totaling $57 million in 2021, $139 million in 2022, and an average of $170 million annually over ten years.

The DOL said that U.S. farm workers not under the H-2A program will also lose wages. The H-2A program has been expanding in recent years. The Labor Department approved more than 275,000 visas under the program in the fiscal year 2020. The State Department also issued more than 204,000 H-2A visas in 2019.

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