Feds Make It Harder
When and how does an ag producer know who he can hire? Yesterday we told you that if a business owner in Idaho knowingly hires illegal aliens, under legislation proposed Tuesday in the House State Affairs Committee by Rep. Phil Hart, R-Hayden that business owner can face severe penalties. Now we learn that the Department of Labor has announced new rules for temporary foreign farm workers. It’s the third time the rules have changed in the past 15 months. “Employers are going to have a program that is more difficult than ever to administer, it’s going to be more expensive than ever and we expect to see the program used far less.” American Farm Bureau Federation Labor Specialist Ron Gaskill says it’s right that jobs go first to U.S. citizens but the new requirements will make it even more difficult for farmers to find the workers they need. “The administration and congress have completely overestimated the willingness of domestic workers to take farm jobs. It’s physically demanding all-weather work. It’s very difficult. In agriculture there has been a deficit of workers even in current times of economic hardship so farmers are finding it increasingly difficult to find employees who are capable and willing to do the kind of work that farm jobs require.”
