The long-running case about whether DOL lawfully suspended the Bush H-2A regulations is over. A judge in the United States District Court in the Middle District of North Carolina decided on October 4, 2011 that the attempted suspension was unlawful. The Court also decided that growers were not responsible for paying a higher wage under the higher wage rates that would have applied if the regulations had been suspended.

On Wednesday, September 13, 2011, there was a hearing on the H-2A program.  Below are three videos from that hearing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TfsYB08DJg&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upTHb_MEmis&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1jO2RdUqac&feature=relmfu

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Click on the link below:

http://www.ncaeonline.org/files/ALRP2011_brochure.pdf

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Click on the Link Below:

http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/pdf/Amend_Extend_Abandon_FAQ.pdf

Click on the Link Below for Filing Tips:

http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/pdf/650090_slaughter_H-2A_filing_tips_8-29-11.pdf

Click on the link below:

http://naturalresourcereport.com/2011/09/congress-to-revisit-ag-labor-debate/

Click on the link below to see the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyp_hQ9PmKg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

1. Can an employer file a single Application for Temporary Employment Certification for staggered dates of need?
   
   No. An application must contain a single date of need for all workers under that application. Under the H-2A program, a date of need is defined as the first date the employer requires the services of H-2A and U.S workers as indicated in the Application for Temporary Employment Certification. The date is not an indication of the first date of need for some workers, but for all the workers that are the subject of the application. We expect that the filing of an Application indicates that the employer has full-time work available for all positions it is requesting for that single start date and that all information reflects the employer's true need. Changing the date of need for some or all workers invalidates the validity of the labor market test, which eliminates the Department's basis for granting the labor certification. A different date was not advertised to U.S. workers, in particular those who, if they had been apprised of the later date, could have made themselves available for the job opportunity, and therefore made the approval of the certification unnecessary. Where the employer has staggered dates of need, the employer must file a separate application for each date of need.

   July 22, 2011

Click on Link Below to See Story:

http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-national.php?Id=1411&yr=2011

http://www.fb.org/index.php?action=newsroom.newsclip&id=69608

See attached news article

http://glasgowdailytimes.com/local/x1071583234/Farmers-feel-punished-by-H-2A-regulations

See the attached article.

http://blogs.knoxnews.com/silence/archives/2011/04/migrant_legal_g.shtml

The new AEWRs were published today in the Federal Register.  Follow the link below to see them

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/2011-4419.htm

Nassif calls for Congress to fix flawed rules under the H-2A program.  Follow the link below.

http://www.theproducenews.com/StoryNewsLS.cfm?ID=10613

AWMA Annual Meeting will be held on Friday, January 14, 2011 at 11:30am (EST) in Heritage Hall in downtown Lexington, KY.  All Stockholders are Welcomed!

This is a reminder that we need your contract documents at least 75 days before your date of need.

The Department of Labor's Wage & Hour Division is assessing J&R Baker Farms, LLC $1,311,644 in back wages it says is owed to 244 workers and $136,500 in fines for violating provisions of the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program.

Click on the full article below.

http://moultrieobserver.com/local/x970729324/Labor-Dept-hits-J-R-Farms

Click on the Link below to see the highlights.

http://www.awmalabor.com/~site/Scripts_UnderConstruction/UnderConstruction.dll?CMD=CMDViewSite&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.awmalabor.com%2Funtitled1.html&HS_ID=1754198844&REFERRAL=SB

The results from this survey sets the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) when they are posted in the Federal Register sometime in February.  The results are on page 17 of the following link.

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/FarmLabo/FarmLabo-11-18-2010.pdf

A series of educational meetings will be conducted across the state of Kentucky for employers of temporary agricultural non-immigrant labor.  The purpose of the meetings are to provide an update on the changes in the H-2A Program regulations that became effective March 15, 2010.

Monday, November 15

10:00 am  - Elizabethtown, KY - Hardin Co Farm Bureau Office

6:00 pm - Murray, KY - Calloway County Farm Bureau Office

Tuesday, November 16

10:00 am - Hopkinsville, KY - Christian Co Extension Office

4:00 pm - Owensboro, KY - Daviess County Farm Bureau Office

Thursday, November 16

9:30am - Lexington, KY - Fayette County Extension Office

All times are local times.