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How to better prepare for DOL audits

A former Department of Labor senior investigator says farmers should be prepared for a potential audit of the H-2A guest worker visa program.

Warren Williams, the owner of WLW2 Consulting, says keeping accurate records is key to maintaining compliance.

“Seventy-five percent of violations are in areas like your record keeping, payroll, housing, inbound and outbound transportation, reimbursements, looking at your vehicles, and making sure you have proper U.S. worker recruitment,” he says.

He says if the Department of Labor finds repeat violations within an operation, farmers could risk their removal from the program. 

“H-2A requires you to be compliant with child labor laws, Fair Labor Standards Act, and OSHA,” he says. “You could get a violation just because you’re not in compliance with those other laws. Anytime you have any kind of payroll violations, those could be multipliers.”

Williams says digital records can help farmers and investigators find information more quickly.

Williams made his comments during a recent FieldClock webinar.