department of labor

The H-2A program continues to grow in popularity, or necessity, in farm country.  American agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers can fill seasonal farm jobs with temporary foreign workers through the H-2A Visa Program.  The Dep...

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act awaits Senate action during the lame-duck session, and many in the farming community say this legislation is the closest meaningful immigration reform has come to the finish line in years.  Research by David Bier, Cato Institute associate director of immigration studies, said s farmers would save billions over the next few years if the Senate passes the legisla

Ag Labor remains one of the chief concerns for the farming community, not only due to increasing costs, but limited availability in 2022. Dan Newhouse, chair of Western Caucus said unfortunately, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which has already cleared the House is stalled in the Senate ...

Earlier this week, the Department of Labor announced a change in how farm labor rate increases are determined. Allison Crittenden, American Farm Bureau Federation Congressional Relations Director, said the final rule no longer uses USDA’s Farm Labor Survey for workers who fall under core farm occupations. ...

Farmworker advocates are pleased the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California issued a temporary restraining order and an injunction against the USDA decision to suspend the annual Farm Labor Survey. The Packer said unless the decision gets appealed, it means USDA has to conduct its Farm Labor Survey and issue its annual Farm Labor Report in November ...

New features on the the USDA's website will help facilitate the employment of H-2A workers. The USDA announced the new features Monday, which includes a real-time dashboard that enables farmers to track the status of their eligible employer application and visa applications for temporary nonimmigrant workers ...

On Thursday, Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a partnership to help agriculture find labor. The partnership between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor seeks to help facilitate the identification of foreign and domestic workers, specifically those that may be available and eligible to transfer to other U ...

Last week, Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue spoke positively about changes the Department of Labor will make to modernize the H-2A process.  The Labor Department published a final, common-sense rule that becomes effective October 21, and eliminates the requirement to advertise job openings in local newspapers.  In...

Agriculture groups are evaluating the Department of Labor’s H-2A proposal announced earlier this week. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall welcomed the proposal, thanking the Trump administration for “recognizing the need to reform” the program.  However, noting...

A company in Silverton and its housing provider must pay $35,000 in penalties after an inspection found migrant farm workers housed in filthy, rodent-infested quarters.  The U.S. Department of Labor said Friday that its inspectors found families in “dilapidated, trash strewn housing” at the facility.   Accordi...