Aug 4, 2020

National ag employers petition labor secretary to amend H-2A regulation

The National Council of Agricultural Employers on Aug. 4 petitioned U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia to amend the regulatory methodology for determining adverse effect in the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program.

According to a news release, the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) lays out clearly in the petition that “current and proposed regulations do not include this congressionally mandated determination, instead assuming that there is ‘adverse effect’ without actually finding it, thus bypassing the statutory requirements and contrary to law.”

“Specifically, the statute requires the secretary to certify whether the employment of aliens in agricultural labor will ‘adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed,”’ said Michael Marsh, president and CEO of NCAE. “We are asking the secretary to make the determination as Congress mandated since overwhelming evidence indicates there is no adverse effect.”

NCAE is the national trade association focusing on agricultural labor issues from the employer’s viewpoint.

2020 Adverse Affect Wage Rates for each state