On June 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule to rescind large portions of its controversial 2024 H-2A Final Rule, Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States. The proposed rescission comes in the wake of multiple federal court injunctions and DOL’s recent decision to suspend enforcement of the rule, as previously reported by Western Growers. 

The Department now acknowledges that many of the 2024 rule’s provisions imposed “unnecessary, burdensome, and costly requirements” on H-2A employers, with limited legal authority or practical utility. The rulemaking is also aligned with President Biden’s Executive Order 14192, which directs federal agencies to reduce private sector regulatory burdens and enhance economic competitiveness. 

Key Provisions Targeted for Rescission 

The proposed rule would eliminate several high-impact provisions from the 2024 Final Rule, including: 

• Worker Voice and Union-Related Protections:
  DOL would repeal new anti-retaliation provisions and employee rights modeled on the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which courts found unlawfully extended union-related rights to agricultural workers explicitly excluded from NLRA coverage. 

• Access to Employer-Provided Housing:
  The rule had granted H-2A workers the right to invite guests to employer-furnished housing. The Department now concedes that this requirement may constitute a regulatory taking under the Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid precedent and proposes to remove it. 

• Wage Disclosure and Prevailing Piece Rates:
  DOL would reverse requirements that forced employers to include prevailing piece rates in job orders and to pay the highest possible wage each pay period. This move would alleviate conflicting legal obligations in different jurisdictions, including the Ninth Circuit’s Torres Hernandez decision and the Familias Unidas litigation in Washington State. 

• Termination for Cause and Progressive Discipline:
  The Department would roll back rigid documentation and procedural mandates that restricted employers’ ability to discipline or discharge H-2A workers. The proposed rescission returns to the Department’s long-standing approach of case-by-case evaluation without a prescriptive five-part test. 

• Seat Belt Requirements:
  The mandate that employers provide and ensure the use of seat belts in most employer-furnished vehicles would be repealed. Courts found this provision arbitrary and inconsistent with existing standards for domestic farmworkers. State-mandated seatbelt laws will still apply.  

• Information Collection:
  DOL proposes to eliminate enhanced disclosure requirements that compelled employers to submit sensitive information about owners, operators, supervisors, and foreign recruiters during the application process. 

Background: Legal Challenges and Enforcement Pause 

The 2024 Final Rule faced immediate legal opposition. Three separate federal courts issued preliminary injunctions enjoining the rule’s enforcement in at least 21 states, and a nationwide stay was issued for certain provisions. Courts concluded that the rule exceeded DOL’s statutory authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), conflicted with the NLRA, and was arbitrary and capricious.  The differing injunctions by the courts created a confusing patchwork quilt of regulations, with different aspects of the Final Rule applying in part or not at all, depending on the state where the work was to be performed, and other factors. 

On June 20, 2025, the Department formally suspended all enforcement of the 2024 Final Rule. DOL field offices were directed to revert to the H-2A regulations in place as of June 27, 2024, pending further rulemaking. 

What’s Next? 

Public comments on the proposed rescission are due 60 days from publication in the Federal Register (July 2, 2025). Western Growers will be submitting comments urging the Department to finalize the rescission and return to a more practical and legally sound regulatory framework for agricultural employers. 

For questions about how this proposal may affect your H-2A compliance obligations, please contact the Western Growers H-2A Services Team.