This article was prepared with the assistance of ABIL, the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers, of which Loan Huynh is an active member.
Effective June 28, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) is amending its regulations governing certification of temporary employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary or seasonal agricultural work and enforcement of contractual obligations applicable to their employers. The revisions in the final rule “focus on strengthening protections for temporary agricultural workers and enhancing [DOL’s] capabilities to monitor program compliance and take necessary enforcement actions against program violators.” DOL said it determined the need for these revisions “through program experience, recent litigation, challenges in enforcement, comments on this rulemaking as well as on prior rulemakings, and reports from various stakeholders.”
The regulatory revisions include provisions to protect workers’ voices and empowerment; clarify termination for cause; designate an immediate effective date for adverse effect wage rate updates; enhance transparency for job opportunities and foreign labor recruitment; enhance transparency and protections for agricultural workers; enhanced enforcement capabilities; and the definitions and factors used in determining terms such as what constitutes a “single employer” or a “successor in interest.”
