Third Cir. Focuses on ‘Public Rights’ in DOL Judges Dispute (1)

A Third Circuit panel zeroed in Thursday on whether enforcement of a seasonal work visa program falls under an exception to a US Supreme Court ruling limiting the power of agency judges to impose monetary penalties.

The case brought by a New Jersey farm tests the constitutionality of the administrative law judge system at the US Labor Department, one of several agencies defending their in-house jurists from legal attacks by employers like SpaceX and Walmart Inc.

Sun Valley Orchards LLC seek to overturn half a million in fines over violations in the H-2A agricultural visa program. It argues that the ...