Information about the DOL Notification Process for Worker Abandonment, or Termination for Cause for H-2A Temporary Agricultural Labor Certifications, 21041 [2011-8969]

Agencies

• Employment and Training Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 72 (Thursday, April 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 21041]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-8969]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Information about the DOL Notification Process for Worker 
Abandonment, or Termination for Cause for H-2A Temporary Agricultural 
Labor Certifications

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This Notice announces specific instructions employers must 
follow when notifying the Department of Labor's (Department) Office of 
Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) that an H-2A worker certified on an 
Application for Temporary Employment Certification or a worker in 
corresponding employment has voluntarily abandoned employment, or was 
terminated for cause before the end of the work contract period.

DATES: This Notice is effective on April 14, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Carlson, PhD, 
Administrator, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, 200 Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-3010 (this is 
not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On February 12, 2010, the Department published a Final Rule on the 
Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Aliens in the United States 
(U.S.), 75 FR 6884, Feb. 12, 2010 (2010 Final Rule). The H-2A 
nonimmigrant worker visa program enables U.S. agricultural employers to 
employ foreign workers on a temporary basis to perform agricultural 
labor or services, when willing and qualified U.S. workers are 
unavailable and the employment of the H-2A workers will not adversely 
affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed workers 
in the United States.
    Occasionally, H-2A workers or workers in corresponding employment 
voluntarily leave their employment or are terminated for cause before 
the specified contract term expires. The 2010 Final Rule provides that 
an employer will not be responsible for transportation and subsistence 
expenses and/or the three-fourths guarantee related to such an H-2A 
worker or worker in corresponding employment, where the H-2A worker or 
worker in corresponding employment abandons employment or is terminated 
for cause before the end date of the contract period, as specified in 
the Application for Temporary Employment Certification, if the employer 
notifies OFLC's National Processing Center (NPC) (and the Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS) in the case of an H-2A worker) of such 
abandonment or termination.
    As set out in 20 CFR 655.122(n), in such instances, the employer 
must notify the NPC (and DHS in the case of an H-2A worker) in writing, 
or by any other method specified by the Department or DHS in a manner 
specified in a notice published in the Federal Register, no later than 
2 working days after the abandonment or termination occurs. An 
abandonment begins after an H-2A worker or worker in corresponding 
employment fails to report for work at the regularly scheduled time for 
5 consecutive work days without consent of the employer.

II. Notification Process

    Beginning on the effective date of this Notice, the written 
notification, as set forth in 20 CFR 655.122(n), must be provided by 
one of the following means:
    1. By electronic mail (e-mail) to: 
H2A.abandonment&termination.chicago@dol.gov, or
    2. Employers without internet access may instead send written 
notification by:
    (a) Facsimile to: (312) 353-6666; or
    (b) U.S. Mail to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training 
Administration, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, Chicago National 
Processing Center, 536 South Clark Street, 9th floor, Chicago, Illinois 
60605-1509.
    In order to ensure prompt and effective processing of the 
notification, the Department requests that the employer's notice 
include at a minimum the following information:
    1. The reason(s) for notification or late notification, if 
applicable;
    2. The date of abandonment or termination;
    3. The number of H-2A worker(s) and/or other worker(s) in 
corresponding employment who abandoned or was/were terminated for 
cause, and the name of each such H-2A worker and/or worker in 
corresponding employment, each employee's last known address (other 
than employer-provided housing);
    4. The Application/Certification number(s); and
    5. The employer's name; address, telephone number, and Federal 
Employer Identification Number (FEIN).
    The NPC will also accept a copy of the written notification of 
abandonment or termination for cause submitted by the employer to DHS 
as long as it contains all of the information listed above and is 
submitted to the NPC via one of the means enumerated in this Notice. 
Failure to provide notice or failure to provide timely notice may lead 
to a finding of noncompliance with the transportation and subsistence 
expenses and/or the three-fourths guarantee provisions as set forth in 
20 CFR 655.122(n).

    Signed in Washington, DC, this 8th day of April 2011.
Jane Oates,
Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-8969 Filed 4-13-11; 8:45 am]
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