Posts By: Jason Resnick
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Western Growers Wins Ninth Circuit Ruling Upholding Block on California’s “Captive Audience” Law
In a significant victory for Western Growers and California employers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on October 29 unanimously affirmed a preliminary injunction blocking California from enforcing SB 399, the state’s so-called “captive audience” law. The court concluded that the employer associations challenging the law are likely to prevail on their claim that it violates…
An H-2A Worker Is Injured as the Season Ends. What Happens Next?
An H-2A worker is still receiving physical therapy when the harvest ends. Another needs surgery just days before the contract expires. Can the worker remain in the United States? Can treatment continue back home? What happens to housing and return transportation? The season’s end does not necessarily end an employer’s responsibilities. Medical care, immigration status and H-2A contract…
Reports of Immigration Enforcement Underscore Need for Preparedness
Western Growers has received reports of immigration enforcement activity in the Fresno and Madera areas, as well as on the Central Coast, including requests to enter agricultural property and encounters involving farmworkers traveling to work. One account described agents making repeated requests to a landowner for access to a farm. A labor contractor reported that three workers were…
California’s War on the Driverless Tractor
A Rule Written for Another Age A Cal/OSHA regulation rooted in the 1970s requires self-propelled agricultural equipment moving under its own power to have an operator stationed at the controls. The rule made sense when autonomous farm equipment belonged to science fiction and a driverless tractor meant someone had fallen off. Nearly 50 years later, tractors can follow mapped routes,…
DHS Proposes Ending Deference to Prior Petition Approvals
The Department of Homeland Security has proposed eliminating a requirement that USCIS generally defer to prior eligibility determinations when reviewing extension petitions involving the same employer, worker and underlying facts. Western Growers intends to submit comments addressing the potential costs, delays and uncertainty for agricultural employers. The proposal would remove 8 CFR §…
Western Growers Files Amicus Brief in Appeal Over Seasonal Workers’ Final Pay
Western Growers has filed an amicus brief in The Wildwood Group, Inc., et al. v. Vista Santa Rosa, Inc., et al., now before California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Two. Drafted by Senior Vice President and General Counsel Jason Resnick, the brief urges the court to uphold a Riverside County Superior Court judgment in favor of agricultural employers. The dispute involves…
AB 2321 Expands Criminal Exposure in Cal/OSHA Investigations
Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2321, authored by Assembly Member Liz Ortega, on September 30, 2026. Effective January 1, 2027, the law strengthens Cal/OSHA enforcement and expands criminal liability for workplace safety violations and interference with inspectors. The law makes willfully obstructing Cal/OSHA inspectors in the performance of specified duties a misdemeanor, punishable by up…
Webinar October 13: Washington Moved. California Answered. AB 2646: What Agricultural Employers Need to Know
Join Western Growers, Fisher Phillips, and the National Council of Agricultural Employers on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, from 12:15–1:15 p.m. PDT for a webinar on AB 2646 and what it means for agricultural employers. Despite substantial opposition from agricultural industry groups, Governor Newsom signed AB 2646, establishing a new minimum wage for certain agricultural employees beginning…
Western Growers Joins Federal Court Challenge to California’s SB 54
Western Growers and 20 other organizations have filed a federal court challenge to California’s SB 54 packaging law, seeking to add constitutional claims to their existing lawsuit over the state’s recycling labeling requirements. On October 8, the coalition, led by the California League of Food Producers, filed a motion for leave to amend and a proposed Second Amended Complaint in the…
Court Sets December 30 Deadline for New H-2A Wage Rule
A federal court has ordered the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a new interim final rule for calculating H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) by December 30, 2026. The existing interim final rule will be vacated effective that same date. The October 2 order in United Farm Workers v. U.S. Department of Labor follows the court’s August 26 ruling that DOL’s wage methodology was…
Governor Signs AB 2646 Establishing Near $20 Wage Floor for H-2A and Corresponding Workers
Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2646, authored by Assemblymember Maggy Krell, on September 30, 2026. Effective January 1, 2027, the law establishes a separate California minimum wage for specified agricultural workers, including H-2A workers and qualifying domestic employees. The law sets a base hourly wage of $19.75, with annual adjustments tied to the Social Security cost-of-living…
UFW Steps Up Organizing Activity
The United Farm Workers has submitted Notices of Intent to Organize against at least four California agricultural businesses this week, signaling a broader organizing push. A Notice of Intent to Organize, or NIO, is a formal notice that a union intends to organize an employer’s agricultural workforce. The UFW must submit authorization cards signed by at least 10 percent of the employees…
Governor Signs AB 2227, Doubling Farm Labor Contractor Bond Requirements
Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 2227, which increases licensing costs and potential penalties for California farm labor contractors. Beginning January 1, 2027, the law doubles the surety bonds required to obtain or renew an FLC license: $50,000 for annual payroll up to $500,000 $100,000 for annual payroll between $500,000 and $2 million $150,000 for annual…
Arizona Minimum Wage Will Increase by Fifty Cents in 2027
Arizona’s minimum wage will increase from $15.15 to $15.65 per hour effective January 1, 2027. Arizona law requires the minimum wage to be adjusted annually based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. The latest federal data show that consumer prices increased 3.4% from August 2025 to August 2026. Applying that increase and rounding to the nearest five cents…
California Commits $35 Million to Worker-Rights Outreach
California is putting substantial new resources behind efforts to educate workers about workplace rights and connect them with government agencies and legal assistance. The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) recently announced a $34.9 million investment in the California Workplace Outreach Project. The program funds nonprofits, labor unions and other community-based…
Salvadoran TPS and Work Authorization Remain in Effect Pending Further DHS Action
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that Salvadoran beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) remain protected and authorized to work while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) considers the future of El Salvador’s TPS designation. El Salvador’s most recent TPS designation was scheduled to remain in effect through September 9, 2026. DHS has not…
AB 2646 Sent to Governor
AB 2646 has cleared the California Legislature and was presented to the Governor on August 31. The Senate passed the measure on a 30–8 vote. AB 2646 would establish a California minimum hourly wage of $19.75 for H-2A workers and domestic workers in corresponding employment. The wage would be adjusted annually beginning January 1, 2027, based on the Social Security cost-of-living…
DOL and UFW Miles Apart on Timeline for New H-2A Wage Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor and United Farm Workers filed a joint status report on September 9 outlining their positions on how quickly DOL must replace the H-2A wage methodology the federal court found unlawful. Although submitted jointly, the report reveals little agreement between the parties. DOL estimates that it will need nine to 12 months to issue a final rule. UFW wants the…
DOL Warns H-2A Employers of Potential Backpay Liability Beginning September 2
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a notice advising H-2A employers that they may be required to make retroactive wage-adjustment payments after the agency establishes a new Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) methodology. The notice follows an August 26, 2026, order in United Farm Workers v. DOL. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California concluded…
Court Upholds Oregon Packaging Responsibility Law
A federal district court has upheld Oregon’s “Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act” against constitutional challenges brought by the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW). The law requires producers of packaging, paper and food-service products sold in Oregon to participate in a producer responsibility organization and pay fees intended to fund the state’s…