The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed new rules, Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States, to amend regulations affecting workers in the federal H-2A visa program. The H-2A program was established to help employers who anticipate a lack of available domestic workers to bring foreign workers to the U.S. to perform temporary or seasonal agricultural work.
The proposal includes provisions to:
- Enhance the department’s ability to monitor compliance and take enforcement actions against program violators.
- Protect workers regarding self-advocacy on working conditions and in cases of alleged employer retaliation.
- Clarify when a termination is for cause, for example, when a worker fails to meet productivity expectations or violates a company policy.
- Make foreign labor recruitment activities more transparent to address concerns regarding workers’ rights and trafficking.
- Update new wage rates as soon as they are published in the Federal Register rather than weeks later.
- Improve workers’ access to safe transportation, including use of seatbelts.
The proposal builds on a final rule the department published in October 2022. There is a 60-day comment period.