The Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is proposing to amend its regulations governing the certification of agricultural labor or services to be performed by temporary foreign workers in H-2A nonimmigrant status (H-2A workers) and enforcement of the contractual obligations applicable to employers of such nonimmigrant workers. This notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM or proposed rule) would rescind provisions contained within a final rule published by the Department on April 29, 2024, which adopted a number of unnecessary, burdensome, and costly requirements on employers. Specifically, these provisions include, but are not limited to, substantial new requirements associated with the material terms and conditions offered by employers to H-2A workers that are not commonly provided to other U.S. workers, including progressive discipline policies for cause-based employment terminations, anti-retaliation measures for certain workers engaged in self-organization and other concerted activities, and expanding the authority and scope for a State Workforce Agency (SWA) to discontinue employment services to employers, which prevents those employers from accessing the H-2A program, while eliminating employers’ option to request a hearing prior to the SWA’s final determination. Further, the final rule imposed extensive highly-sensitive data collection requirements on employers related to their use of foreign labor recruiters, including personal names and physical addresses abroad, as well as detailed personal information associated with all owners of the employers, operators of the place(s) of employment, and supervisor(s) and manager(s) of workers employed under the terms of the work contract, with very limited or no practical utility to the agency’s statutory decision making.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking can be found here. The public may access the docket to read background documents or comments received by going to https://www.regulations.gov (search using RIN 1205-AC25 or Docket No. ETA-2025-0007). If you need assistance to review the comments, contact the Office of Policy Development and Research at 202-693-3700 (this is not a toll-free number). Comments must be submitted by September 2, 2025.

On June 20, 2025, the Wage and Hour Division announced that it has suspended enforcement of all provisions introduced in the 2024 H-2A Final Rule (see Field Assistance Bulletin 2025-2).

Pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 (Pub. L. 117-103), the department is publishing a report on the enforcement of farm labor contractors (FLCs) in the H-2A program.

Section 218 of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the lawful admission into the United States of temporary, nonimmigrant workers (H-2A workers) to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature. Before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can approve an employer's petition for such workers, the employer must file an application with the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) stating, among other things, that there are not sufficient workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available, and that the employment of aliens will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers similarly employed in the U.S. Any employer using H-2A workers must have initially attempted to find U.S. workers to fill these jobs. Workers employed under the H-2A program must be paid special rates of pay that vary by locality, must be provided with safe and clean housing and safe transportation from that housing to the job site if their employment requires them to be away from their residence overnight, and must be guaranteed employment for a total number of hours equal to at least 75% of the work period specified in the contract.

At this time, the resources, fact sheets, and posters linked further below on this page may not yet reflect all changes implemented by the final rule. The Department is currently reviewing its guidance and will soon update all resources as necessary.

Resources

Fact Sheets

Learn more by reading fact sheets that cover a variety of H-2A topics, including recruitment, worker rights, records retention, meal obligations, wage requirements, housing standards, labor contractor surety bonds, and retaliation prohibitions under the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program.

Posters

Applicable Laws and Regulations

Law

Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustments

Starting in 2016, agencies across the federal government must adjust their penalties for inflation each year. For more information on the penalty adjustments, go here.