Thread: Obama suspends change made to farmworker rule

Obama suspends change made to farmworker rule

Bush had eased restrictions on hiring foreigners

By Holly Rosenkrantz
Bloomberg
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.14.2009

The Obama administration suspended a rule issued at the end of the Bush presidency that made it easier for U.S. employers to hire foreign farmworkers.

The Bush rule eliminated some restrictions on the H-2A program that allows farmers to hire workers from other countries on a temporary basis for seasonal field jobs they find that U.S. workers won't do.

After President George W. Bush failed to pass immigration reform in 2007, his administration pursued a change in the H-2A program. The new regulation became final Jan. 17, three days before President Obama was inaugurated.

The Bush rule eased the regulatory burden employers face to prove they tried to recruit Americans first, and limited how much employers have to reimburse foreign workers for the cost of going home. It eliminated the duplication among federal and states agencies processing applications and revised the wage formula.

Erik Nicholson, a vice president of the United Farm Workers, said the Bush plan would damage wages and working conditions. The Bush administration had said it would reduce the regulatory work required of companies trying to hire farmworkers.
"Suspending the rule would allow the department to review and reconsider the regulation," Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said in a written statement.

During the nine-month suspension period for the rule, the Labor Department will continue to accept and process H-2A applications.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/284310.php

Related:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-864891.html#864891

With MILLIONS of illegal aliens here it looks like we should have enough, or do they really not want to work?