Reimbursing Travel Expenses

There have been some changes for farmers who employ workers through the H2A program. Washington Farm Labor Association's Dan Fazio explains.

FAZIO: Well, we got a little bad news from the 9th Circuit about the H-2A guest worker program and the requirement to reimburse worker travel expenses for employers that use the H2A program. The Court seems to be requiring employers to reimburse travel expenses for workers with the first pay check, in other words in-bound travel expenses that the workers have the employers have to reimburse that even though the regulation states that travel expenses do not need to be reimbursed until the worker completes 50 percent of the work contract.

Fazio says this really won't be a big impact since it had already been brought up.

FAZIO: But it is symptomatic of a government that is hostile to employers who are struggling to get a legal and stable workforce. The employers are spending a lot of money to try and use this H2A program and the H-2A regulation states that employers can wait until the worker completes 50 percent of the contract to reimburse that in-bound travel. It's kind of an incentive for the worker to stick around. We're kind of frustrated with an administration that continues to make it harder for employers to use the legal program to hire workers than to use the alternative. It is frustrating for farmers who are genuinely trying to embrace this guest worker program and do the right thing.

That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.