{"abstract":"The Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is amending its regulations governing the certification of agricultural labor or services to be performed by temporary foreign workers in H-2A nonimmigrant status (H-2A workers) and enforcement of the contractual obligations applicable to employers of such nonimmigrant workers. These regulations are consistent with the Secretary of Labor's (Secretary) statutory responsibility to certify that there are not sufficient able, willing, and qualified workers available to fill the petitioning employer's job opportunity, and that the employment of H-2A workers in that job opportunity will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed. Among the issues addressed in this final rule are improving the minimum standards and conditions of employment that employers must offer to workers; expanding the Department's authority to use enforcement tools, such as program debarment for substantial violations of program requirements; modernizing the process by which the Department receives and processes employers' job orders and applications for temporary agricultural labor certifications, including the recruitment of United States workers (U.S. workers); and revising the standards and procedures for determining the prevailing wage rate. This final rule will strengthen protections for workers, modernize and simplify the H- 2A application and temporary labor certification process, and ease regulatory burdens on employers.","action":"Final rule.","agencies":[{"raw_name":"DEPARTMENT OF LABOR","name":"Labor Department","id":271,"url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/labor-department","json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/agencies/271","parent_id":null,"slug":"labor-department"},{"raw_name":"Employment and Training Administration","name":"Employment and Training Administration","id":133,"url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/employment-and-training-administration","json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/agencies/133","parent_id":271,"slug":"employment-and-training-administration"},{"raw_name":"Wage and Hour Division","name":"Wage and Hour Division","id":524,"url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/wage-and-hour-division","json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/agencies/524","parent_id":271,"slug":"wage-and-hour-division"}],"body_html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/html/2022/10/12/2022-20506.html","cfr_references":[{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":"653","title":20},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":"655","title":20},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":"501","title":29}],"citation":"87 FR 61660","comment_url":null,"comments_close_on":null,"correction_of":null,"corrections":[],"dates":"This final rule is effective November 14, 2022.","disposition_notes":null,"docket_ids":["DOL Docket No. ETA-2019-0007"],"dockets":[{"supporting_documents":[],"agency_name":"ETA","documents":[{"comment_count":0,"comment_start_date":"2022-10-12","updated_at":"2023-02-27T20:10:27.525-05:00","comment_url":"https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/ETA_FRDOC_0001-0276","allow_late_comments":null,"id":"ETA_FRDOC_0001-0276","comment_end_date":null,"regulations_dot_gov_open_for_comment":false}],"supporting_documents_count":0,"id":"ETA_FRDOC_0001","title":"eRecently Posted ETA Rules and Notices."},{"supporting_documents":[{"title":"Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Annual Adjustments for 2023","document_id":"WHD_FRDOC_0001-0122"},{"title":"Department of Labor Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Annual Adjustments for 2022","document_id":"WHD_FRDOC_0001-0116"},{"title":"Rules of Practice and Procedure Concerning Filing and Service and Rules Concerning Filing and Service","document_id":"WHD_FRDOC_0001-0105"},{"title":"Department of Labor Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Annual Adjustments for 2021","document_id":"WHD_FRDOC_0001-0098"},{"title":"Rules of Practice and Procedure Concerning Filing and Service and Amended Rules Concerning Filing and Service","document_id":"WHD_FRDOC_0001-0097"},{"title":"Rules of Practice and Procedure Concerning Filing and Service and Amended Rules Concerning Filing and Service","document_id":"WHD_FRDOC_0001-0096"},{"title":"Discretionary Review by the Secretary of Labor","document_id":"WHD_FRDOC_0001-0094"},{"title":"Discretionary Review by the Secretary of Labor","document_id":"WHD_FRDOC_0001-0093"},{"title":"Amended Rules Concerning Discretionary Review by the Secretary","document_id":"WHD_FRDOC_0001-0085"},{"title":"Discretionary Review by theSecretary","document_id":"WHD_FRDOC_0001-0081"}],"agency_name":"WHD","documents":[{"comment_count":0,"comment_start_date":"2022-10-12","updated_at":"2023-02-27T20:10:27.960-05:00","comment_url":"https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/WHD_FRDOC_0001-0119","allow_late_comments":null,"id":"WHD_FRDOC_0001-0119","comment_end_date":null,"regulations_dot_gov_open_for_comment":false}],"supporting_documents_count":0,"id":"WHD_FRDOC_0001","title":"Recently Posted WHD Rules and Notices."}],"document_number":"2022-20506","effective_on":"2022-11-14","end_page":61831,"executive_order_notes":null,"executive_order_number":null,"full_text_xml_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/xml/2022/10/12/2022-20506.xml","html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/10/12/2022-20506/temporary-agricultural-employment-of-h-2a-nonimmigrants-in-the-united-states","images":{},"images_metadata":{},"json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents/2022-20506?publication_date=2022-10-12","mods_url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/metadata/granule/FR-2022-10-12/2022-20506/mods.xml","not_received_for_publication":null,"page_length":172,"page_views":{"count":25320,"last_updated":"2026-10-23 00:15:04 -0400"},"pdf_url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-10-12/pdf/2022-20506.pdf","presidential_document_number":null,"proclamation_number":null,"public_inspection_pdf_url":"https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2022-20506.pdf?1665060317","publication_date":"2022-10-12","raw_text_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/text/2022/10/12/2022-20506.txt","regulation_id_number_info":{"1205-AB89":{"issue":"202204","html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/regulations/1205-AB89/temporary-agricultural-employment-of-h-2a-nonimmigrants-in-the-united-states","title":"Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in the United States","xml_url":"http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202204&RIN=1205-AB89&operation=OPERATION_EXPORT_XML","priority_category":"Other Significant"}},"regulation_id_numbers":["1205-AB89"],"regulations_dot_gov_info":{"supporting_documents":[],"comments_count":0,"agency_id":"ETA","comments_url":"https://www.regulations.gov/docketBrowser?rpp=50&so=DESC&sb=postedDate&po=0&dct=PS&D=ETA_FRDOC_0001","supporting_documents_count":0,"docket_id":"ETA_FRDOC_0001","document_id":"ETA_FRDOC_0001-0276","regulation_id_number":null,"title":"eRecently Posted ETA Rules and Notices.","checked_regulationsdotgov_at":"2023-02-28T01:10:26Z"},"regulations_dot_gov_url":null,"significant":true,"signing_date":null,"start_page":61660,"subtype":null,"title":"Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in the United States","toc_doc":"Temporary Agricultural Employment of H2A Nonimmigrants in the United States","toc_subject":null,"topics":["Administrative practice and procedure","Agriculture","Aliens","Employment","Equal employment opportunity","Forests and forest products","Fraud","Grant programs-labor","Health professions","Housing","Housing standards","Immigration","Labor","Migrant labor","Passports and visas","Penalties","Reporting and recordkeeping requirements","Transportation","Wages"],"type":"Rule","volume":87}