Posts By: Jason Resnick
- All
- July, 2026
- June, 2026
- May, 2026
- April, 2026
- March, 2026
- February, 2026
- January, 2026
- December, 2025
- November, 2025
- October, 2025
- September, 2025
- August, 2025
- July, 2025
- June, 2025
- May, 2025
- April, 2025
- March, 2025
- February, 2025
- January, 2025
- December, 2024
- November, 2024
- October, 2024
- September, 2024
- August, 2024
- July, 2024
- June, 2024
- May, 2024
- April, 2024
- March, 2024
- February, 2024
- January, 2024
- December, 2023
- November, 2023
- October, 2023
- September, 2023
- August, 2023
- July, 2023
- June, 2023
- May, 2023
- April, 2023
- March, 2023
- February, 2023
- January, 2023
- December, 2022
- November, 2022
- October, 2022
- September, 2022
- August, 2022
- July, 2022
- June, 2022
- May, 2022
- April, 2022
- March, 2022
- February, 2022
- January, 2022
- December, 2021
- November, 2021
- October, 2021
- September, 2021
- August, 2021
- July, 2021
- June, 2021
- May, 2021
- April, 2021
- March, 2021
- February, 2021
- January, 2021
- December, 2020
- November, 2020
- October, 2020
- September, 2020
- August, 2020
- July, 2020
- June, 2020
- May, 2020
- April, 2020
- March, 2020
- February, 2020
- January, 2020
- December, 2019
- November, 2019
- October, 2019
- September, 2019
- July, 2019
- June, 2019
- May, 2019
- April, 2019
- March, 2019
- February, 2019
- January, 2019
- December, 2018
- November, 2018
- October, 2018
- September, 2018
- August, 2018
- July, 2018
- June, 2018
- May, 2018
- April, 2018
- March, 2018
- February, 2018
- January, 2018
- December, 2017
- November, 2017
- September, 2017
- July, 2017
- January, 2017
- December, 2016
- November, 2016
- October, 2016
- September, 2016
- June, 2016
- May, 2016
- March, 2016
- February, 2016
- January, 2016
- December, 2015
- November, 2015
- September, 2015
- July, 2015
- June, 2015
- May, 2015
- April, 2015
- March, 2015
- February, 2015
- January, 2015
Employers Must Take Steps to Protect Outdoor Workers from Heat Illness
In light of the National Weather Service’s most recent excessive heat watch alert, Cal/OSHA is reminding all employers to take steps to prevent heat illness during a period of high heat across the state. When the temperature is 95 degrees or more, certain employers must implement effective high-heat procedures like additional monitoring of workers for ...
Guidance on Deferral of Payroll Taxes
On August 8, 2020, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum directing the Treasury Secretary to defer the collection of the employee portion of Social Security taxes (listed as “OASDI” on the paystub) but left many questions on the details on implementing this deferral unanswered. The Memorandum directed the Department of Treasury to issue guidance that ...
Western Growers Files Amicus Brief in Timing of Final Wages Case
Western Growers and industry allies have filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief with the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District. In Jaime Zepeda Labor Contracting, Inc., et al. v. Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, the Court of Appeal will rule on two issues very important to the agricultural industry: Whether ...
U.S. Department of Labor Revises Farm Labor Contractor Forms
The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has revised the farm labor contractor (FLC) application form WH-530 and several other forms related to FLC registration with WHD. The new forms WH-530, WH-514 and WH-514A, which have an expiration date of 8/31/2023, may be used immediately, but must be used for any application ...
Register for WG’s Legal Updates Webinar: Key Wage & Hour Compliance Areas For Employers Now
WG’s Vice President and General Counsel, Jason Resnick, will be joined by the Jackson Lewis Team in the upcoming Western Growers Legal Updates Webinar on Wednesday, October 7, 2020. This program will focus on key wage and hour compliance areas arising out of the impact of COVID-19 for employers. Viewers can expect to learn not ...
Governor Newsom Signs COVID-19 Worker Protection Bills into Law
Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a pair of COVID-19 worker protection bills into law. SB 1159 creates a new “disputable presumption” that an employee’s illness or death due to COVID-19 is work-related on or after July 6, 2020, through January 1, 2023. The emergency legislation takes effect immediately. AB 685 requires employers notify employees within one ...
CDC Again Recommends Testing for COVID-19 Close Contact
On Friday, the CDC issued clarification on its guidance for COVID-19 testing and is again recommending testing for anyone with close contact to someone with COVID-19: “Due to the significance of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission, this guidance further reinforces the need to test asymptomatic persons, including close contacts of a person with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection”…
Ventura County Issues H-2A Housing Order
On Friday, the Ventura County Health Officer issued a new order requiring temperature screening, self-evaluation and reporting of COVID-19 cases at all homeless shelters and H-2A housing in Ventura County. The new order stipulates the following: All individuals entering or residing in a homeless shelter of H-2A housing shall be screened for COVID-19 symptoms daily. ...
Court Blocks USCIS Fee Increases
Last week, a federal judge granted a motion for a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from moving forward with its rule imposing a new fee schedule. The USCIS had issued a rule that could dramatically increase fees on employers that use the H-2A program, among other immigration-based programs. The fees ...
USDA to Discontinue Ag Labor Survey
The U.S Department of Agriculture announced last week its intent to suspend the Agricultural Labor Survey which is used to set the Adverse Effect Wage Rates for H-2A workers each year. According to USDA, “[t]he Agricultural Labor Survey provides quarterly statistics on the number of agricultural workers, hours worked, and wage rates. Number of workers ...
California Issues Guidance on New Pay Data Reporting Requirements
On September 30, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 973, which imposes new pay reporting requirements on certain employers. Employers in California with more than 100 full-time and part-time employees that are required to file employer information reports with the federal government (“EEO-1” reports) will be required to submit pay and hours-worked data ...
Calif. Issues Limited Stay at Home Order to Slow Spread of COVID-19
Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today announced a limited Stay at Home Order in which non-essential businesses and personal gatherings are prohibited between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. The order will take effect at 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 21 and remain in effect until 5:00 a.m. on December ...
Farm Workers Union Sues DOL Over New Rule for H-2A Wage Rates
The U.S. Labor Department rule changing how the agency calculates wage rates for temporary guest workers in the H-2A agricultural visa program violates the Administrative Procedure Act and must be set aside, according to a lawsuit filed in a California federal court. The United Farm Workers and its foundation filed a complaint Monday against the ...
Federal Court Blocks DOL Rule on H-2A Wage Freeze
On December 23, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Eastern California granted the United Farm Workers’ (UFW) motion for a preliminary injunction, preventing the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from freezing wages under the H-2A agricultural guest-worker program. Last month, DOL published a final rule freezing wages for 2021 and 2022 at ...
Cal/OSHA Issues New COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard FAQ’s; Industry Lawsuit is Underway
On Jan. 8, 2021, Cal/OSHA issued much-anticipated updated Frequently Asked Questions in connection with the COVID-19 emergency temporary standards (ETS). While the new FAQs offer some clarity as to some of the many questions employers have grappled with in attempting to comply with the ETS, many questions and ambiguities remain. According to the updated FAQs ...
U.S Department of Labor Issues New H-2A Streamlining Rules
On Jan. 15, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule that would modernize the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Labor Program. This combined agency effort between DOL, the State Department and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been a long time coming and comes on the eve of a presidential transition. However, as ...
2021 H-2A AEWR Expected by Feb. 25; May Require Backpay Obligation
As reported here, on December 23, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California issued an order in United Farm Workers. v. DOL enjoining the Department of Labor from implementing its Final Rule modifying the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) methodology for setting wages under the H-2A program. On January 12, 2021, ...
Department of Labor Pulls Trump H-2A Streamlining Rule
As reported here, on January 15, 2021, just five days before President Biden would take the oath of office, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the imminent publication of a final rule, Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in the United States (RIN 1205-AB89). The rule was to go into effect 30 days after the pending publication ...
Western Growers Files Amicus Brief in Union Access Case
Western Growers, California Fresh Fruit Association, Grower Shipper Association of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties and Ventura County Agricultural Association have filed an amicus curiae – friend of the court – brief at the U.S. Supreme Court in a case challenging the so-called Access Regulation promulgated by the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) ...
Court Hears Arguments on Motions for Preliminary Injunction in ETS Lawsuits
On Thursday, January 28, 2021, the San Francisco Superior Court heard back-to-back oral arguments on motions for preliminary injunctions sought in two lawsuits – one by the Western Growers-led agricultural and broad business coalition, and the other by the National Retailers Federation – to stop the recently-enacted Cal OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) concerning COVID-related…