Avoid Guest Worker Pitfalls

Editor's note: During the next few weeks, DTN will publish a series of stories focusing on ag labor challenges and solutions. Most of the stories first appeared in the Progressive Farmer Summer issue, "Labor Pains." Our online series will also include bonus content that didn't appear in the magazine.

This story provides helpful tips to farmers on how to navigate the complexities of the H-2A guest worker program.

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Farmers are often surprised by the time commitments, costs and rules for hiring H-2A guest workers.

Here are a few things you need to know when deciding whether to bring in guest workers.

PLAN AHEAD FOR NEXT YEAR

If you think you need help next year, start mapping out your H-2A plan now. The avalanche of requirements is complicated, overlapping and time sensitive.

Farmers need to start working with an H-2A contractor at least four months ahead of when workers are needed. Realistically, thinking at least six months out would help. Requests for workers should be filed with the state Department of Labor office at least 75 days before workers are needed.

Farmers then need to document their efforts to hire domestic workers, which includes accepting labor referrals from state workforce development agencies.

"A lot of farmers, if they haven't looked into the program, think it's like, 'Hey, I can pick up a phone like I do for another service provider and get some guys in here in a couple weeks.' That's not how it works," said Sarah Black, general manager of Great Lakes Ag Labor Services LLC.

Worker applications are sent to the U.S. Department of Labor, but they then must go to the Department of Homeland Security, as well. Then, the paperwork is sent to the U.S. State Department to coordinate a time for a visa interview at the consulate. It's a very time-specific process, and paperwork must be completed within a window, or farmers won't get their workers on time. In some cases, farms have had to start the paperwork process over to get workers.

While more than 90% of guest workers come from Mexico, getting visas approved in Mexico has slowed down because the secretary of state closed H-2 visa operations in Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico, pushing all that work to the consulate's office in Monterey, Mexico.

Farmers will pay the costs to send potential guest workers to Monterey for interviews. Getting a visa application approved can take three working days after the interview. If a potential worker's consulate interview is on a Friday, the farmer is paying to put up that visa applicant in a hotel in Monterey until potentially the next Wednesday to receive their visa.

"We've had several instances where we needed to schedule workers, and there were zero appointments available nationwide. And we're just one small company, so I think they (the State Department) have to figure out how to make that work," Black said.

LABOR NEEDS DICTATE HOW YOU CONTRACT

There are also different models for bringing in workers. A small strawberry farm, for instance, may only need a handful of workers for a month to help with harvest. A farm labor contractor would already have a crew of workers and take care of the housing, payroll and day-to-day management of that crew, and minimize the paperwork needs for the farm.

If a farm needs workers for a full 10 months, though, a farm labor contractor is going to be more expensive, because a farmer would be paying that labor contractor a fee as part of the hourly rate for every payroll. Those fees add up fast.

HOUSING COULD BE A STUMBLING BLOCK

Farmers looking to hire their own H-2A workers must ensure they have housing that will be licensed and inspected by their state labor regulators. Generally, an apartment lease will work, but it still must be inspected.

A lot of rural areas, however, simply don't have good housing options. Farmers who also have constructed housing for their workers have been caught off guard by updated regulations in the program. Make sure you know the current requirements.

John Boelts, president of the Arizona Farm Bureau, said the housing rules can be the "straw that broke the camel's back" for some small farms trying to bring in H-2A workers, especially if the farm builds out housing only to be told it doesn't meet the rules.

"I used to joke with people that if you stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, it would not cut muster for H-2A housing, because there's no trash can in every room like H-2A housing was requiring at that time," Boelts said.

Black explained that housing should be the first thing a farmer thinks about before moving ahead to sign up for H-2A workers.

"How are you going to deal with the housing? That's the first stumbling block of H-2A is you have to get housing in order," she said.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE REST OF YOUR EMPLOYEES?

H-2A was initially set up to supplement a farm's workforce if they could not find local workers. So, the Department of Labor requires all workers on the farm to have the same benefits provided to guest workers in a country. Essentially, any benefit offered to an H-2A worker must be offered to a domestic worker on a farm, as well. That also may mean understanding how much the farm will have to pay people for certain labor done by domestic workers based on the wages H-2A workers receive. The rules also require farmers to ensure everyone is covered under a workers' compensation policy.

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For more on the pros and cons of the H-2A program and a look at U.S. agriculture's increasing reliance on foreign workers, see "Farms See Value, Costs in Foreign Labor" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

And for links to more DTN/Progressive Farmer stories that are part of our ongoing "Navigating Ag's Labor Crisis" coverage, visit https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Chris Clayton can be reached at chris.clayton@dtn.com

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