Another Group Joins Lawsuit Against Dept. of Labor over H2A Rules

Another group has joined a lawsuit against the US Department of Labor over revisions to the nation's H2A rules concerning farmworkers.

   Lawsuit claims new rules would allow more union organization, possible crippling strikes

During the Roosevelt Administration in the 1930s as part of the New Deal, Congress allowed certain groups to unionize under the National Labor Relations Act. However, farmworkers were specifically prohibited from doing so. This was done to prevent potentially crippling strikes that leaders thought could threaten national food supplies, security and the economy.

Over 90 years later, the Southeastern Legal Foundation has joined the opposition, saying these new laws could allow "malign actors" to infiltrate ag operations. One of the groups includes the National Council of Ag Employers.

According to Vegetable Growers .com:

“This offensive regulation,” Michael Marsh, NCAE president and CEO, said in the release. “It was developed in utter bad faith and in conflict with Congress and the Constitution of the United States. This regulation never should have been allowed to see the light of day, let alone be published as a Rule. NCAE commends the SLF’s efforts to stop this regulation from inflicting lasting and devastating harm on America’s farmers and ranchers.”

The NCAE and others in the suit say DOL is overstepping its boundaries, and bypassing Congress when it comes to making these changes.

Marsh also said:

“As a result of the Department’s overreach, agricultural employers are suffocating under a 3,000-page mountain of regulatory text that the Department and other regulatory agencies involved in agricultural labor have piled on America’s farmers and ranchers in the last few months.”