Employment Standards Administration February 13, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) is proposing 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) would re-engineer the process by which employers may obtain a temporary labor certification from the Department for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H-2A (agricultural temporary worker) status. Re-engineering measures focus on the utilization of an attestation-based application process after an employer conducts pre-filing recruitment and the elimination of duplicative activities currently performed by the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). In concert with these changes, the Department proposes to amend the wage and hour regulations to provide for enhanced enforcement, including more rigorous penalties, under the H-2A program to complement the modernized certification process so that workers are appropriately protected should an employer fail to meet the requirements of the H-2A program.