Chicago – November 26, 2024
A federal judge in Kentucky has blocked new protections for foreign farmworkers brought to the U.S. under H-2A visas.
The protections, introduced by the Biden-Harris administration in April, aimed to prevent employers from intimidating or discriminating against H-2A workers, especially when they organize for better wages or working conditions. These rules were seen as an effort to help workers speak out without fear of retaliation.
However, U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves sided with Kentucky farmers and several Republican state attorneys general who argued the new rules gave farmworkers rights to form unions, Congress should decide something they believe, not the Department of Labor. Reeves stated the new rules tried to grant workers collective bargaining rights without proper authorization from Congress.
Earlier, a federal judge in Georgia had already blocked these rules in 17 states, and Reeves’ ruling only applies to the states involved in the case. This decision puts a temporary hold on the expanded protections for H-2A visa workers.
