The Labor Department said it had strengthened worker protections in the agricultural guestworker program in two regulations announced on Thursday. One applies to the H-2A program and will take effect on Nov. 14. The other involves temporary labor certification under H-2A and will appear in the Federal Register next week.
The new H-2A rule updates bond requirements for labor contractors, allows state and local officials to conduct housing inspections, modernizes the system for determining the prevailing local wage, and boosts the Labor Department’s ability to pursue fraud. The department said it found H-2A violations in 358 cases and recovered $5.8 million in back wages for more than 7,000 workers in 2021.
“Today’s new rule makes several improvements to enhance the integrity of the H-2A program and provide employers and other stakeholders greater clarity,” said Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.