2019-15307: Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in the United States

Summary

The Department of Labor (Department or DOL) proposes to amend its regulations regarding the certification of temporary employment of nonimmigrant workers employed in temporary or seasonal agricultural employment and the enforcement of the contractual obligations applicable to employers of such nonimmigrant workers. This notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM or proposed rule) streamlines the process by which the Department reviews employers' applications for temporary agricultural labor certifications to use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H-2A status. Amendments to the current regulations focus on modernizing the H-2A program and eliminating inefficiencies. The Department also proposes to amend the regulations for enforcement of contractual obligations for temporary foreign agricultural workers and the Wagner- Peyser Act regulations to provide consistency with revisions to H-2A program regulations governing the temporary agricultural labor certification process.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 3 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 20 CFR 653 Services of the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service System
• 20 CFR 655 Temporary Employment of Foreign Workers in the United States
• 29 CFR 501 Enforcement of Contractual Obligations for Temporary Agricultural Workers Admitted Under Section 218 of the Immigration and Nationality Act