DOL halts implementation of its H-2A farmworker protection rule

In late August, a federal judge in Georgia blocked the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from enforcing its farmworker protection rule, also known as the “Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States” rule. The rule bars employers from retaliating against farmworkers who are in the United States on temporary H-2A visas and trying to form unions. Following the court ruling, the DOL halted the planned implementation entirely.

Trade group sues

This spring, the DOL released a final rule designed to expand employment protections for farmworkers in the H-2A visa program and strengthen the department’s capabilities to monitor and enforce program compliance. According to the DOL, the new rule targets abusive working conditions experienced by H-2A temporary agricultural workers.

Once the DOL released the rule, agricultural trade group Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Association and attorneys general (AGs) from 17 states—led by Kansas AG Kris Kobach—filed suit to block the regulations, noting specifically that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) has always excluded agricultural workers from its definition of “employee” since it came into being in the 1930s. The states that joined the suit include Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Judge cites Loper Bright