Dec 20, 2024
Agriculture and Trade
AGRI ACT SEEKS H-2A REFORM
Jul 12, 2019
In The News
Written by: Nicole Heslip
Published by: Brownfield Ag News
A bill has been introduced in the U.S. House which calls for reforms to the H-2A guest worker program.
Introduced by Congressman Rick Crawford of Arkansas, the Agricultural Guest Worker Reform Initiative or AGRI Act gives jurisdiction for ag workers from the Department of Labor to the Department of Agriculture.
Crawford says the current program has many flaws which makes it difficult for farmers to comply, the reforms streamline the program and provides them greater access to ag workers.
It also eliminates the Adverse Affect Wage Rate and lets employers offer market-based wages.
If passed, the act would require H-2A workers to return to their country of origin for one month after every 10 in the U.S.