Thursday, July 29, 2010

Different System In Place

Hiring Ag Workers Becomes More Difficult

Different System In Place

In the past, wages were calculated using the Occupational Employment Service (OES) system run by the Department of Labor, as opposed to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate Index calculated by USDA. The OES system was so decentralized before, Little says, that you could be a farmer operating in two different counties and have to pay people in one county a significantly greater amount per hour than the people in the other county.

"As a result of the new rule, agricultural employers who hire H-2A workers will wind up paying everyone the higher of the two wages," he says.

The rule also reinstates the 50 percent rule, which means if an employer cannot hire domestic employees after investing in recruiting and therefore must hire workers through the H-2A program, and if a domestic worker applies for that job before the contract reaches half its duration, the employer would have to hire that worker, displacing H-2A workers in the process.

source : cottonfarming

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