The Department of Labor was found to have exceeded its authority by a judge. In Georgia, a federal judge blocked a new labor rule that aimed to provide foreign farm workers on temporary U.S. visas with certain rights and protections. The rule was challenged by a coalition of 17 states led by Kansas, Georgia, and South Carolina, along with the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and a Georgia farm. They argued that the Department of Labor regulation violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which allows certain employees to unionize.
The NLRA permits workers to organize and collectively bargain, and prohibits employers from interfering with this right. However, agricultural laborers were specifically excluded from this definition of an “employee.” U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood sided with the states, granting a preliminary injunction to halt the enforcement of the regulation.
Judge Wood stated in her decision that the Department of Labor had overstepped its constitutional authority by implementing the final rule. The farms involved in the lawsuit, Miles Berry Farm and the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, argued that they would suffer financial harm if the rule was enforced, leading to increased costs.
The states also contended that the rule would grant rights to H-2A visa holders that surpass those of American citizens. The H-2A visa program allows foreign nationals to work temporarily in the agricultural sector in the United States. The lawsuit involved states such as Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
The final rule issued by the Department of Labor aimed to set minimum terms and conditions of employment for temporary foreign workers to prevent negative impacts on domestic workers. It allowed H-2A visa holders to engage in concerted activity to ensure compliance with DOL standards, including protection against retaliation for unionizing.
However, Judge Wood determined that Congress did not intend to grant farm laborers the right to participate in concerted activity to further their interests. She emphasized that while the DOL could assist Congress, it could not act in place of Congress. The states requested a nationwide injunction, which was denied by the judge, as she believed they could achieve complete relief without it. Please rewrite this sentence.
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