New England Biz Law Update
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed to rescind several major components of its 2024 Final Rule governing the H-2A agricultural guest worker program.
The 2024 rule, originally aimed at strengthening worker protections, quickly encountered legal challenges from agricultural employers and trade associations, resulting in court injunctions, a national enforcement pause, and a proposal to reverse the regulations.
Why the U-turn?
The DOL now says that parts of the 2024 rule were “unnecessary, burdensome, and costly,” and may have exceeded the agency’s legal authority. The proposed rollback aligns with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14192, which directs agencies to reduce regulatory burdens on the private sector and support economic competitiveness.
Here are some of the key rollbacks in the proposed rule:
- Worker voice and retaliation protections
The DOL plans to eliminate expanded anti-retaliation and collective action protections modeled after the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Courts found these provisions improperly extended union-related rights to agricultural workers, who are specifically excluded from NLRA coverage. - Access to employer-provided housing
The 2024 rule gave H-2A workers the right to invite guests to employer-furnished housing. The DOL now concedes this may constitute a “regulatory taking” under the Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid decision, infringing on employers’ property rights. - Prevailing piece rates and wage disclosures
The rollback would remove the requirement that employers disclose and pay the highest of several possible wages – including piece rates – each pay period. The change reverses provisions added to harmonize conflicting court rulings, particularly from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and a Washington State case (Familias Unidas), among others. - Enhanced employer disclosure requirements
DOL also plans to drop expanded data reporting mandates that required employers to list owners, supervisors, and foreign recruiters. The Department found that these requirements had limited enforcement utility and posed privacy and administrative burdens. - Seatbelt mandates
The rule rescinds the requirement that employers provide and ensure use of seatbelts in employer-furnished vehicles, citing court findings that this mandate was inconsistent with standards for domestic farmworkers and overly burdensome. - Termination and discipline policies
The proposed rule eliminates prescriptive disciplinary frameworks that required detailed documentation to terminate H-2A workers “for cause.” DOL plans to return to a case-by-case evaluation standard.
Legal backdrop
The 2024 H-2A Final Rule was quickly challenged in multiple federal courts. Preliminary injunctions in Kansas v. DOL, Barton v. DOL, and International Fresh Produce Association v. DOL barred enforcement in at least 17 states and placed a nationwide hold on certain provisions. These courts found portions of the rule arbitrary, legally unsupported, or in conflict with other federal laws such as the NLRA and the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Meanwhile, one court – North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation v. DOL – upheld the rule, creating a fragmented legal landscape and inconsistent enforcement across states.
What’s next?
Public comments on the proposed rescission are due by September 2, 2025. Comments can be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal under Docket No. ETA–2025–0007.
