Western Growers has joined a coalition of national and state agricultural organizations in an amicus brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in Department of Labor v. Sun Valley Orchards, LLC. The National Council of Agricultural Employers organized the coalition, and the Southeastern Legal Foundation drafted the brief.
The case arose after the U.S. Department of Labor assessed approximately $550,000 in back wages and civil penalties against Sun Valley Orchards, a family-owned New Jersey farm that participated in the H-2A program. The Department pursued the claims through its internal administrative tribunal rather than an independent federal court.
The amicus brief argues that Congress did not authorize the Department of Labor to create its own tribunal for resolving H-2A enforcement disputes. According to the brief, the Department’s current process allows the agency to serve as rulemaker, prosecutor, judge and collector of penalties without the clear congressional authorization required for such a concentration of power.
The Supreme Court’s decision could have significant consequences for agricultural employers nationwide. At stake is whether employers facing substantial federal penalties are entitled to have those claims heard by an independent judge and jury, and whether the Department’s H-2A enforcement system operates within statutory and constitutional limits.
Western Growers joined the brief to support fair process, meaningful judicial review and the due process rights of agricultural employers participating in the H-2A program.