U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) recently issued a final rule changing the H-2A Program for Temporary Foreign Agricultural Workers. Previously, farm employers were required to advertise in print newspapers as the labor market “test” to determine if enough domestic U.S. workers were available to fill the farm’s labor needs. With the decline of print newspapers in recent years these ads were not only ineffective but they were also becoming very expensive and difficult to manage, especially since advertising in large circulation newspapers and in a Sunday edition was usually required. Beginning October 21, 2019, farm employers using H-2A will not be required to advertise their positions. Instead USDOL will automatically post the jobs online at SEASONALJOBS.DOL.GOV and through job listings services provided by the state workforce agency, usually the state department of labor.
Read more in this USDOL press release and in this USDA press release.
Significant changes are coming the H-2A program. Plan to attend the Becker Forum on January 13, 2020 in Syracuse, NY to learn more.
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By Richard Stup, Cornell University. Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution.
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