By Diane Stafford
The U.S. Labor Department on Friday issued new rules for the H-2B immigration program governing temporary, non-agricultural workers.
The department said the changes were designed to give U.S. workers greater access to jobs.
DOL H-2B Visa Final Rule
Key Development: Final rule alters the employer application and recruitment process and provides additional protections for H-2B and U.S. workers.
Potential Impact: Employers must apply through a bifurcated registration/application process under which DOL must certify that required program conditions exist; U.S. workers who perform substantially the same work as the job order or as H-2B workers are entitled to program protections.
By John Lantigua
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued new rules requiring importers of foreign guestworkers nationwide to make a greater effort to recruit local workers, a change that will have a significant impact on Palm Beach County.
In a series of articles published in 2011, The Palm Beach Post revealed that 2,000 foreign workers were being imported yearly for jobs of seven months and more in local country clubs and resorts, despite an unemployment rate in the county of over 10 percent, and approximately twice that high among minority workers.
The Labor Department on Friday unveiled rules that reshape a program for foreign migrants in work other than agriculture, which officials said would strengthen protections for those workers and also spur recruitment of Americans for such jobs. It was the latest move in a protracted battle between employers and the Obama administration over the nation’s temporary guest workers.
The rules make important changes across the program, which is known as H-2B. The changes were hailed by advocates for guest workers, who said they would make it more difficult for businesses to exploit vulnerable foreign migrants and hire them to undercut Americans.
By Ryan Lengerich
Hundreds of temporary foreign workers in the Black Hills will have more protections from employers and recruiters under guidelines announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Employers must also follow stricter guidelines in order to ensure qualified U.S. workers are not available for jobs first.
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