Recission of Final Rule: Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States
This is a proposal open for comment, not a rule in force. It may never be finalised, and it creates no obligation today.
The Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is proposing to amend its regulations governing the certification of agricultural labor or services to be performed by temporary foreign workers in H-2A nonimmigrant status (H-2A workers) and enforcement of the contractual obligations applicable to employers of such nonimmigrant workers. This notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM or proposed rule) that would rescind provisions contained within a final rule published by the Department on April 29, 2024, which adopted a number of unnecessary, burdensome, and costly requirements on employers. Specifically, these provisions include, but are not limited to, substantial new requirements associated with the material terms and conditions offered by employers to H-2A workers that are not commonly provided to other U.S. workers, including progressive discipline policies for cause-based employment terminations, anti-retaliation measures for certain workers engaged in self-organization and other concerted activities, and expanding the authority and scope for a State Workforce Agency (SWA) to discontinue employment services to employers, which prevents those employers from accessing the H-2A program, while eliminating employers' option to request a hearing prior to the SWA's final determination. Further, the final rule imposed extensive highly-sensitive data collection requirements on employers related to their use of foreign labor recruiters, including personal names and physical addresses abroad, as well as detailed personal information associated with all owners of the employers, operators of the place(s) of employment, and supervisor(s) and manager(s) of workers employed under the terms of the work contract, with very limited or no practical utility to the agency's statutory decision making. A brief summary of this rulemaking can be found at www.regulations.gov by searching by the RIN: 1205-AC25.
What this means
- This is a proposal open for comment, not a rule. It changes nothing today, and it may be altered or never finalised. (classification: proposed_rule)
- The document names H-2A temporary agricultural. It may identify others — read the original to be sure. (impact.stated (partial))
- The document states a requirement for the people it covers. The exact wording is quoted above — whether it applies to any particular person depends on facts this platform does not have. (impact.actionRequired)
Derived from this event’s own recorded fields — not written by a model, and not an interpretation of anyone’s case.
Who is affected
What the document says may be required
The document states a requirement for those it covers. The exact obligation, and whether it applies to a particular person, depends on the document's own terms — the relevant passage is quoted below.
“…prosperity and national security and the highest possible quality of life for each citizen, the Department has determined that the regulatory requirements and policies contained in the 2024 H-2A Final Rule must be reconsidered and proposes revisions in this NPRM.”
This list may be incomplete — the document may identify others. Read the original. Assembled from the source document, not from anyone's individual circumstances. Whether a change applies to a specific person depends on facts this platform does not have. This is data context, not legal advice.
- This is a PROPOSED rule. It is not in force, may change before finalisation, and may never be finalised.