US Labor Department offers free compliance assistance seminars in November for Florida agricultural employers, farm labor contractors

TAMPA, Fla. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division will host free compliance assistance seminars for Florida agricultural employers and farm labor contractors to help promote compliance with the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act and the H-2A temporary worker program.

Topics will include housing and transportation, employee work hours, wage rates and record-keeping requirements. A special session will discuss ways to improve vehicle safety when transporting agricultural workers. These compliance assistance seminars are part of the division's multiyear education and enforcement initiative aimed at strengthening compliance in Florida's agricultural industry.

The first seminar will be held Thursday, Nov. 19 from 9 a.m. to noon EST at the One-Stop Career Center Campus, 2001 E. Cherry St., Plant City 33563. On Friday, Nov. 20, another seminar will take place from 4-6 p.m. EST at the AG Center, 4506 George Blvd., Sebring 33875. To register or request more information on these seminars, call Monique Perez or Lourdes Bahr of the Wage and Hour Division at 813-636-5105, or email perez.monique@dol.gov or bahr.lourdes@dol.gov.

"The department is committed to ensuring that agricultural employers and farm labor contractors understand their responsibilities under federal labor laws," said James Schmidt, director of the Wage and Hour Division's Tampa District Office. "Our goal is to protect agricultural workers, who are often denied the pay legally guaranteed to them, and to make sure that they receive all of the protections provided by federal labor law. A strong enforcement program also helps prevent law-abiding agriculture employers from being placed at a competitive disadvantage for playing by the rules and paying fair wages."

Virtually all employees engaged in agriculture are covered by federal law, and most agricultural employers, agricultural associations and farm labor contractors are subject to the MSPA, which protects migrant and seasonal agricultural workers by establishing employment standards related to wages, housing, transportation, disclosures and record keeping. More information on the MSPA is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs49.pdf. Information on the Wage and Hour Division's enforcement activities related to the H-2A program for temporary, foreign agricultural workers is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/ag/ag_h-2a.htm.

Information about federal labor laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division is available in English and Spanish by calling the division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), or by visiting its website at http://www.dol.gov/whd.