Republican AGs Sue to Block Farmworker Organizing Protections

Kansas and 16 other states with Republican attorneys general have sued to halt a Biden administration rule adding protections for foreign farmworkers organizing for better working conditions.

That rule, which takes effect June 28, aims to boost the ability of farmworkers on H-2A seasonal work visas to organize collectively on work conditions even though they are exempt from the National Labor Relations Act. That statute guarantees private sector workers’ right to organize unions.

The rule includes restrictions on employer-mandated “captive audience” meetings that attempt to dissuade labor organizing, clarifies protections requiring “just cause” for disciplinary action, and guarantees workers can ...