Blog

          New Jersey state legislators are working on legislation to raise the state minimum wage gradually in steps, from the current $8.85 per hour, to $15.00 per hour by 2024.  But the proposed legislation would move … Read more Farmworker Justice Condemns New Jersey Legislative Proposal to Discriminate Against Farmworkers in Minimum Wage Law

Agribusiness Employers File Suit to Stop Implementation of 2019 AEWR On January 7, the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE), along with grower Peri & Sons Farms, Inc., filed a lawsuit in D.C. federal court seeking to stop the Department … Read more Farmworker Justice Update – 01/11/19

Public Comment Deadlines for Proposed H-2A Program Changes As a reminder, there are various opportunities to comment in response to Federal Register notices related to the H-2A program, with deadlines next week. As mentioned in previous updates, the Department of … Read more Farmworker Justice Update – 12/18/18

Ag Employers Seek to Avoid 2019 H-2A Wage Increases In a November 28 letter to Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) asked for “short-term relief” from the federal government … Read more Farmworker Justice Update: 11/29/18

Rulemakings Related to the H-2A Program Today, the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (DOL ETA) issued notices of proposed rulemaking regarding the recruitment requirements for the H-2 visa programs, both H-2A and H-2B. Farmworker Justice plans to draft … Read more Farmworker Justice Update: 11/09/18

The latest Department of Labor data show tremendous growth in the H-2A temporary foreign agricultural worker program.  The DOL approved almost a quarter of a million—a total of 242,762—H-2A positions in fiscal year 2018. In just the last year, the … Read more H-2A Program Growing at Unprecedented Rate; Worker Protections at Risk

H-2A FY 2018 4Q Data Now Available            The Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) recently released H-2A program data for the fourth quarter of FY 2018. There were a total of 242,762 H-2A positions certified for all … Read more Farmworker Justice Update – 10/19/18

Farmworker Justice Update: 10/04/18 President Signs FY 2019 Appropriations Package, Including CR for Various Pending Bills On September 28, President Trump signed a spending package for FY 2019, which began October 1. The package includes full-year funding for various programs, … Read more Farmworker Justice Update: 10/04/18

Farmworker Justice (FJ) condemns the Trump Administration’s proposed changes to immigration policy regarding the “public charge” requirement that would deny visas and permanent resident status, and ultimately U.S. citizenship, to low-wage immigrant workers.    The proposed rule drastically expands the … Read more Statement on Trump Administration’s Proposed “Public Charge” Rule Denying Poor People the Opportunity for Immigration Status and Citizenship

It needs to be said:  Farmworkers’ wage rates are too low.  Farmworkers provide us with abundant, safe, healthy food at relatively low cost.  They work hard in one of the most dangerous jobs in the nation. They should be compensated … Read more Farmworkers’ Low Wage Rates Have Risen Modestly; Now Congress May Pass a Law to Lower Them