H-2A Farmworker Organizing Safeguards Blocked by Third Court (1)

A Mississippi federal judge has blocked enforcement of Labor Department organizing protections for farmworkers on temporary visas, issuing the third injunction against the regulations.

The International Fresh Produce Association and several other industry trade groups challenged the rule last month, arguing that it violated the First Amendment rights of employers and that it conflicted with the National Labor Relations Act, the statute governing the rights of private sector workers to collectively bargain.

DOL issued the organizing protections to bolster the ability of farmworkers on the temporary visas to advocate for better working conditions on the job. Although farmworkers are excluded ...