ISSUE:

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) announced on June 30 that a new national electronic job registry for H-2A agricultural jobs will be operational on July 8.  The H-2A final rule that became effective March 15 included a requirement that all job orders filed in connection with an H-2A application for an agricultural guest worker must be posted on a national, publicly accessible electronic job registry. The jobs must remain posted until the time the H-2A contract period is half over, thereby allowing U.S. workers to apply for the jobs.

According to the ETA, the new online registry “will improve the transparency of agricultural jobs available to U.S. workers and provide an unprecedented level of public access to one of the most frequently requested types of records maintained by the department.”  The job registry will be accessible through the DOL's Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OLFLC) iCERT visa portal system, and can be viewed here.

IMPACT:

The job registry will allow individuals to search and retrieve H-2A job orders filed in connection with an application for temporary employment certification that is accepted by the DOL.  Each job order will be placed on the registry “promptly after accepting the employer's application.”  Job orders posted within the last 30 days can be accessed from the iCERT visa portal home page while job orders older than 30 days will be accessible to the public through registry search engines.

A search feature in the new job registry will allow individuals to find jobs through case number, employer name, area of intended employment, work contract period, job title, and primary crop or agricultural activity.  The OFLC has established a help desk e-mail and phone number to address any concerns that arise as individuals begin using the registry.

Text of the Federal Register notice may be accessed here.