DOL Steps Up Nursery and Greenhouse H-2A Enforcement

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) appears to be stepping up scrutiny of greenhouse and nursery employers’ H-2A applications and questioning whether employers in our industry truly have a temporary or seasonal need for labor.

Though this has happened at times in the past, and AmericanHort has successfully pushed back, the current situation is concerning. Greenhouse and warmer-climate nursery applications seem to be most in the crosshairs.

What to do in the face of these challenges? H-2A agents such as másLabor, which participated in a recent AmericanHort webinar on visa programs, are advising horticultural employers against making changes to their established dates of need and keeping each application as consistent as possible with prior years' applications.

Further, horticultural employers are advised that H-2A applications should include a clear and detailed statement justifying temporary or seasonal need and providing supporting evidence to substantiate such need.