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This page contains
general information on the H-2A guestworker program. For the
latest news and current updates please
See our H-2A News page.
The H-2A temporary foreign agricultural worker program
allows agricultural employers to hire workers from other countries
on temporary work permits to fill agricultural jobs that last ten
months or less. To bring in H-2A guestworkers, employers must first
show that they have tried and are unable to find U.S. workers to
meet their labor needs. Although the H-2A program includes
some basic requirements to protect U.S. workers from negative
effects on their wages and working conditions, as well as protect
foreign workers from exploitation, it has been criticized for
failing to protect vulnerable workers. For a more detailed
summary and critique of the H-2A program, see our
H-2A Summary handout .
Farmworker Justice Litigation
on H-2A
Farmworker
Advocates Sue Arizona Growers, Labor Contractors for Hiring Foreign
Guestworkers before Recruiting US workers
Farmworker Justice and Community Legal Services, a not-for-profit
civil law firm in Arizona, filed a lawsuit on December 19, 2007 against two
Arizona-based employers who replaced their entire US workforce with
foreign guestworkers. The suit brought on behalf of nearly two
hundred US workers was filed in the U.S. District Court in Arizona
on December 19th.
Read the Press
Release
Download the full
Complaint
* * *
Farmworker Justice, United Farm Workers Sue DOL under Freedom of
Information Act for Info on H-2A program
Farmworker Justice and Public Citizen filed a lawsuit on December
13th against the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) under
the Freedom of Information Act for
failing to release
information about employers applying
for temporary foreign agricultural workers under the H-2A
program.
The
groups want this information to ensure employers and the DOL are
complying with laws that regulate wages, benefits and working
conditions within the United States.
The lawsuit, brought on behalf of United Farm Workers and Farmworker
Justice, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia. Attorneys from both Public Citizen and Farmworker Justice
are handling the case.
Read the Press Release
Download the full Complaint.
* * *
Farmworker Justice
engages in advocacy and litigation on behalf of H-2A workers to
force the
U.S.
government to enforce and employers to abide by existing labor
protections. We have other pending cases involving this
program. For more information,
see our Litigation
page.
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Adverse Effect Wage
Rate (AEWR)
The 2008 H-2A adverse effect wage
rates were issued on February 26, 2008.
See the
current 2008 AEWR and a chart of previous AEWRs from 2000 to 2007.
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Top]
H-2A and
International Labor Rights
Farmworker Justice and the
Centro Independiente de Obreros Agicolas y Campesinos (CIOAC) of
Mexico City have asked the North American Commission for Labor
Cooperation to address the mistreatment of Mexican H-2A guestworkers
working in agriculture in North Carolina.
The North American Agreement on Labor
Cooperation (NAALC), also known as the "NAFTA labor side
agreement", requires each of the three trading partners (US, Mexico and
Canada) to effectively enforce their labor laws. For more info
on the petition, see our international
labor rights page.
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Resources
For a list articles, reports, and websites on the
H-2A please see our H-2A
Resources handout.
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Please also
visit the AgJOBS and
Immigration Legislation section
for information about how the bipartisan AgJOBS proposal can reform
the H-2A program in ways that enhance and preserve workers' rights
while also helping out employers. |
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