The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration and Wage and Hour Division propose to amend regulations to improve working conditions and protections for workers engaged in temporary agricultural employment in the United States; and strengthen protections in the recruitment, job order clearance, and oversight processes. The proposed regulatory changes involve the Employment Service and the H-2A non-immigrant visa program at 29 CFR part 501 and 20 CFR parts 651, 653, 654, 655, and 658.

The Department has identified a need to strengthen and clarify protections for all temporary agricultural workers, including U.S. workers and workers employed through the H-2A temporary agricultural program. The H-2A temporary agricultural program allows agricultural employers to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature so long as there are not sufficient able, willing, and qualified U.S. workers to perform the work and the employment of H-2A workers does not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed workers in the United States. The use of the H-2A program has grown substantially in recent years and the Department is committed to protecting agricultural workers in light of their significant vulnerabilities.