H-2A Rule Suspended

At the midnight hour of its time in office, the Bush Administration introduced final new H-2A regulations.   The regulations were hotly debated, but became effective January 17, 2009. 

According to the Washington Post, “[m]any immigration and labor advocacy groups had opposed the new rule for lowering wages and eliminating some protections for temporary farm workers. But farm owners supported the Bush administration changes, saying they eliminated red tape that made it harder to bring in foreign workers to help harvest crops.”

As was expected, the U.S. Department of Labor announced on Friday that it is suspending the H–2A Final Rule published on December 18, 2008. That Final Rule amended the regulations governing the certification for temporary employment of nonimmigrant workers in agricultural occupations on a temporary or seasonal basis, and the enforcement of contractual obligations applicable to employers of such nonimmigrant workers. To ensure continued functioning of the H–2A program, the Department is republishing and reinstating the regulations in place on January 16, 2009 for a period of 9 months, after which the Department will either have engaged in further rulemaking or lift the suspension.

KJ