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Farm labor rule deemed unconstitutional

A federal judge says a recent rule from the Department of Labor to improve temporary ag worker protections is unconstitutional.

The U.S. District Court Judge has sided with the plaintiffs who argued the DOL’s rule illegally provides collective bargaining rights to H-2A guest workers and contradicts the National Labor Relations Act.

The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association saysthe decision validates beliefs that the latest set of rules proposed go far beyond authority granted by Congress. Pausing these rules, they say, will allow the court to weigh the detrimental impacts they would have created within the H-2A program

While the judge did not issue a nationwide injunction, the rule has been halted in seventeen states including Kansas, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska, at a Georgia-based berry farm, and for members of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.

 The United Farm Workers union is calling the ruling shocking.