Ensuring compliance with wage and hour laws is a cornerstone of responsible business management and employment law risk mitigation. This article, forming part of our ongoing series on employment practice self-audits, serves as the first installment of a two-part discussion on best practices for wage and hour compliance. Defining Work Schedules and Payment Cycles A crucial initial step…
The Office of Foreign Labor Certification has published its annual update to allowable charges for temporary workers' meals and for travel subsistence reimbursement, including lodging. These changes apply to all H-2A visa applications received on or after February 13, 2024. New Allowable Meal Charges: In its job offer to U.S. and H-2A workers, the employer either must offer and state that it…
Building on our discussion about hiring practices, we now turn our focus to a critical yet often overlooked area: the self-audit of employment records. Proper management of employee files, time records, wage statements, and schedules is not just a matter of organizational efficiency; it's a cornerstone of legal compliance and risk management. Maintaining Confidentiality and Retention First and…
In the evolving world of employment law, staying compliant and adopting best practices in your hiring processes isn't just beneficial—it's imperative. Today, we're zeroing in on an essential component: Hiring Practices. 1. Employment Applications: Seeking Appropriate Information The initial step in auditing your hiring practices involves a thorough review of your employment…
A challenge brought by agricultural employers against the Biden Administration’s 2022 H-2A Final Rule has been rejected. The National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) argued that the department had unlawfully withdrawn the previous administration's rule, which had been published online just nine days before President Joe Biden took office. However, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras…
On January 31, 2024, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Final Rule, which will impact the filing fees for many petitions, including H-2A petitions. Fees to file petitions will go up dramatically. The new fees will be effective April 1, 2024. Under the Final Rule, for employers with 26 or more full time employees, the filing fee for unnamed H–2A workers…
Western Growers filed an amicus brief in the United States District Court, Western District of New York, in New York State Vegetable Growers Association, Inc. v. Hochul. The New York State Vegetable Growers Association (“NYSVGA”) and five family-owned farms filed the lawsuit, challenging the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act (“FLFLPA” or the “Act”) which amended the State…