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Prepare for DOL check-ins on seasonal workers

An ag labor attorney is encouraging farmers to be prepared for government audits and inspections to raise workforce issues.

Kim Clark with Varnum Law tells Brownfield, “Department of Labor is out in force doing their investigations.”

“Immediate plans—have a meeting with your managers, review your practices, make sure your employment practices are in place, and develop a plan for when the government auditor comes because Department of Labor could be right around the corner,” she says.

She says farmers are obliged to complete I-9 forms for seasonal workers and to keep them on file for up to three years.

“If it turns out that those documents were not reasonably valid, and they’ve done their I-9 correctly, the employers protected, the employer is not expected to be immigration police, or understand every possible fraudulent document that could be presented,” she explains.

Clark says the last meaningful immigration reform was in 1985 which has left a generation undocumented migrants without options.

“If they made the illegal entry to begin with, they can’t cannot correct their status under the current law, and under the law since 1985,” she says.

She says farmers have the right to clarify why government officials have come to an operation, and if they are in the correct location.

In the case of inspections or audits, Clark says other agencies could follow up if flags come up during the visit.