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National & World Ag News Headlines |
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Immigration Policy Update Passed
USAgNet - 01/07/2009
Two important decisions were made prior to the holidays last month concerning immigration policy, reported the National Milk Producers Federation in its member newsletter Tuesday. First, the Department
of Labor (DOL) posted the expected final rule change for the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program on the DOL website.
The new rule does not provide the dairy industry with an exemption from the seasonality requirement. Therefore, the dairy industry remains excluded from the H-2A program. However, it is significant to note
that the DOL made reference to the number of comments they received from the dairy industry. Thanks to the numerous requests by NMPF members and other industry groups, the concerns of the dairy
industry were highlighted in the rule.
Most provisions of the new rule will take effect 30 days after publication on January 18th. The incoming Obama administration has the means, through Congress, to block the implementation of this rule.
NMPF will continue to monitor the evolution of the new H-2A rule. Also, NMPF will continue to lobby for comprehensive immigration reform that addresses our members' foreign labor issues.
In the second immigration policy development, NMPF's immigration counsel, Glen Wasserstein, has confirmed that the dairy industry is not subject to Executive Order 12989, which requires most federal
contractors and subcontractors to participate in the E-Verify program. At issue was whether companies that supply dairy products to government feeding programs, such as the school lunch program, would
have the farms supplying them fall into the "contractor" designation specified in the E-Verify rule.
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