COURT BLOCKS OBAMA ADMINISTRATION'S SUSPENSION OF H-2A RULE
News Date June 30, 2009
A federal judge blocked the Department of Labor’s suspension of the Bush administration’s H-2A agricultural worker rules, which were to take effect at midnight on June 29. The Obama administration’s action sought to revert the program back to the regulations in place prior to the Bush administration’s January 17 changes. However, late Monday a North Carolina federal district court judge granted an injunction blocking the suspension of the Bush H-2A rules. For H-2A users who applied for a labor certification either prior to January 17 under the old program, or after January 17 under the Bush rules, this means status quo for now; no change in rules, no increase in Adverse Effect Wage Rate.
In May, the Department of Labor temporarily amended the regulations governing the certification for temporary employment of nonimmigrant workers in seasonal agricultural occupations, and the enforcement of employer contractual obligations. At the end of nine months, the Department said it would decide to either lift the suspension or create new rules. It remains unclear at this time if people filing for labor certification after June 29 will be included under the “transitional rules” that had been extended by the Department of Labor until the end of the nine month period.