The U.S Department of Labor announced their final rule addition to their farmworker protection regulation. The rule is supposed to protect temporary agricultural workers under the H-2A program in the country, by promoting employer accountability, enhancing safety measures and preventing labor exploitation. 

The final rule added by the government agency makes changes to the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Services and changes regulations in the H-2A temporary nonimmigrant agricultural worker visa program. 

The Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933 established the nationwide system of public employment service programs and offices that provide public labor-exchange services. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, this final rule is also intended to extend employment services to migrant or seasonal farmworkers (MSFW.)

In a press release, the government institution’s Acting Secretary Julie Su said the rule “ensures farmworkers employed through the H-2A program are treated fairly, have a voice in their workplace, and can perform their work safely. It also promotes employer accountability, benefitting all farmworkers by upholding labor standards. The Biden-Harris administration is committed to being the most pro-worker administration in history, and this rule is a significant milestone in that effort.”

The final rule includes protection for worker self-advocacy regarding their working conditions “by expanding the range of activities protected by anti-retaliation provisions,” and protects workers’ choice to join unions and allows them to consult legal service providers. 

It also protects workers from termination without proper cause and clarification. 

In addition to that, it improves foreign worker recruitment chain transparency and requires employers to fully disclose the job’s nature and provide a copy of all agreements with agents, recruiters, and the H-2A application name, location, and contact information.

It also ensures timely wage changes for H-2A workers, improves transportation safety, and prevents labor exploitation and passport, visa, documentation confiscation, and employer accountability.  

H-2A farm laborers are under the category of employees that “have residence in a foreign country which (they have) no intention of abandoning” and are in the United States to perform agricultural labor or services for a season or limited period of time. 

Employers are only allowed to hire H-2A employees to perform seasonal agricultural labor if there are not enough workers willing and qualified available to perform the job, and if the employment of foreign workers will not affect the wages or working conditions of U.S employees. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, farmworkers and crop laborers make an hourly median salary of $16.88, and those wages tend to lack benefits like health care or retirement contributions. Meanwhile, the food and agriculture industry makes up $1.420 trillion of the U.S. gross domestic product.  America’s farms contribute $222.5 billion to that, about 0.9% of the overall U.S. GDP. 

The final rule is effective on June 28, 2024, but H-2A applications filed before August 28, 2024 will be processed according to federal regulations as of June 27, 2024. Applications submitted after August 29, 2024 will be processed in accordance with the Farmworker Protection Rule provision.