For years, farmers and ranchers were required to advertise in newspapers for American workers before they were allowed to hire seasonal workers from other nations. Effective Oct. 21, employers can post job openings on a Labor Department site — SeasonalJobs.dol.gov — and dispense with printed advertisements.
The Labor Department, which announced the change over the weekend, said the new approach will modernize the “labor market test” that is part of gaining approval to hire H-2A guestworkers. The new website is based on an existing digital job registry. The department described the site as “a mobile-friendly and centralized online platform that will offer more robust and personalized search capabilities as well as information about agricultural job opportunities in a format that is compatible with third-party job-search websites.”
Besides the online job lists, the Labor Department said some H-2A forms, previously available only on paper, can now be filed on line.
Farm groups have complained repeatedly that the H-2A process is unduly cumbersome and time-consuming.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the actions by the Labor Department were proof that President Trump “is committed to ensuring our farmers and producers have access to a stable, legal agricultural workforce.”