Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, DOL NEWS—Wage and Hour Division announces new H-2A farmworker guidance, supplanting 2024 rule, (Jun 23, 2025)

By Jason Albright, J.D.

The announcement described the Biden Administration’s 2024 farmworker rule as “burdensome.”

On Friday, DOL’s Wage and Hour Division announced that it is suspending enforcement of an April 2024 final rule, “Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States,” which sought to increase and strengthen worker protections, enhance DOL’s enforcement capabilities in the H-2A temporary agricultural employment program, and help ensure that an employer’s use of the H-2A program does not adversely affect wages and working conditions in the United States.

In a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) issued by the Wage and Hour Division on Friday, the agency indicated that it would suspend enforcement of the 2024 final rule “[i]n light of multiple federal court injunctions and ongoing regulatory reconsideration….” Following publication of the 2024 final rule, according to the agency, multiple federal courts issued preliminary injunctions affecting its enforcement in whole or in part.

“These multiple injunctions,” according to the FAB, “have created significant legal uncertainty and operational challenges for WHD staff, regulated employers, and affected workers. A temporary, nationwide suspension of enforcement ensures clarity and consistency while existing litigation over the legality of the 2024 Final Rule continues, and the Department considers further regulatory action.”

The Biden-era rule had amended several regulatory provisions governing the H-2A temporary agricultural labor certification program under the Immigration and Nationality Act. It revised DOL’s H-2A regulations at 20 C.F.R. part 655 subpart B and 29 C.F.R. part 501, as well as the Wagner-Peyser Employment Service (ES) regulations under 20 C.F.R. parts 651, 653, and 658 regarding the Agricultural Recruitment System and discontinuation of ES services. Among other things, the Biden-era rule had addressed rights to engage in concerted activity; worker guest access to employer-provided housing; termination standards and progressive discipline; seat belt requirements; wage disclosure and payment obligations; and employer disclosure and certification obligations.

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