Trump Administration Concedes Farm Labor Shortage as Judge Weighs H-2A Pay-Cut Rule

Overview

• The United Farm Workers sued in the Eastern District of California to block the interim H-2A wage rule, with a hearing held in Fresno this week.
• An administration attorney acknowledged in court that there are not enough Americans to take farm jobs while defending the wage cuts.
• Labor Department counsel argued lower H-2A wages would not hurt U.S. workers because employers already cannot find domestic labor, a claim the judge questioned.
• The rule would create two tiers, classify roughly 92% of H-2A workers as unskilled, and set their pay at the 17th percentile of average wages.
• The Economic Policy Institute estimates many farmworkers’ pay would drop to about $13.70 an hour, down from a $17.43 average minimum last year, as growers warn rising labor costs threaten farm viability.