Laws and Regulations

The following two final rules affect the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service (ES), including ES services that State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) provide to migrant and seasonal farmworkers (MSFW).

• The Department published the Farmworker Protection Rule in the Federal Register (89 FR 33898) on April 29, 2024. The Final Rule amended the regulations governing the H-2A program at 20 CFR part 655, subpart B, and 29 CFR part 501, as well as the Employment Service (ES) regulations at 20 CFR parts 651, 653, and 658. The ES amendments include changes related to the Agricultural Recruitment System and the bases and procedures for State Workforce Agencies’ discontinuation of ES services to employers. ETA described many of the changes in Training and Employment Notice No. 27-23 published on April 29, 2024. 
  
  On August 26, 2024, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued a preliminary injunction order (“Order”) in the case Kansas, et al. vs. U.S. Department of Labor, et al. No. 2:24-cv-00076-LGW-BWC (S.D. Ga., Aug. 26, 2024) (“Kansas”) prohibiting DOL from enforcing the Farmworker Protection Rule in certain states and with respect to certain entities. The preliminary injunction specifically prohibits DOL from enforcing the Farmworker Protection Rule in the states of Georgia, Kansas, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, and against Miles Berry Farm and members of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association as of August 26, 2024. DOL is complying with the preliminary injunction. Accordingly, until further notice, these 17 states should follow the Employment Service regulations at 20 CFR parts 651, 653, and 658 that were in effect prior to the effective date of the Final Rule. All other states will continue to follow the ES regulations currently in effect as of June 28, 2024, including all ES amendments made in the Final Rule. For more information on the effect of the injunction, please see TEN 27-23, Change 1. For information on the H-2A certification process, please visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor.
   
• Wagner-Peyser Act Staffing Final Rule, 88 FR 82658, November 24, 2023. The final rule requires states to use state merit staff to provide ES services, including ES services to MSFWs. The final rule also makes changes to 20 CFR parts 651, 652, 653, 654, and 658 to strengthen ES services that states provide to MSFWs and to enhance worker protections. For more information, see Training and Employment Notice No. 10-23 and a webcast on WorkforceGPS, which provide a summary of the changes.