[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 72 (Thursday, April 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 21041]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-8969]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Information about the DOL Notification Process for Worker
Abandonment, or Termination for Cause for H-2A Temporary Agricultural
Labor Certifications
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This Notice announces specific instructions employers must
follow when notifying the Department of Labor's (Department) Office of
Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) that an H-2A worker certified on an
Application for Temporary Employment Certification or a worker in
corresponding employment has voluntarily abandoned employment, or was
terminated for cause before the end of the work contract period.
DATES: This Notice is effective on April 14, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Carlson, PhD,
Administrator, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-3010 (this is
not a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On February 12, 2010, the Department published a Final Rule on the
Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Aliens in the United States
(U.S.), 75 FR 6884, Feb. 12, 2010 (2010 Final Rule). The H-2A
nonimmigrant worker visa program enables U.S. agricultural employers to
employ foreign workers on a temporary basis to perform agricultural
labor or services, when willing and qualified U.S. workers are
unavailable and the employment of the H-2A workers will not adversely
affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed workers
in the United States.
Occasionally, H-2A workers or workers in corresponding employment
voluntarily leave their employment or are terminated for cause before
the specified contract term expires. The 2010 Final Rule provides that
an employer will not be responsible for transportation and subsistence
expenses and/or the three-fourths guarantee related to such an H-2A
worker or worker in corresponding employment, where the H-2A worker or
worker in corresponding employment abandons employment or is terminated
for cause before the end date of the contract period, as specified in
the Application for Temporary Employment Certification, if the employer
notifies OFLC's National Processing Center (NPC) (and the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) in the case of an H-2A worker) of such
abandonment or termination.
As set out in 20 CFR 655.122(n), in such instances, the employer
must notify the NPC (and DHS in the case of an H-2A worker) in writing,
or by any other method specified by the Department or DHS in a manner
specified in a notice published in the Federal Register, no later than
2 working days after the abandonment or termination occurs. An
abandonment begins after an H-2A worker or worker in corresponding
employment fails to report for work at the regularly scheduled time for
5 consecutive work days without consent of the employer.
II. Notification Process
Beginning on the effective date of this Notice, the written
notification, as set forth in 20 CFR 655.122(n), must be provided by
one of the following means:
1. By electronic mail (e-mail) to:
[email protected], or
2. Employers without internet access may instead send written
notification by:
(a) Facsimile to: (312) 353-6666; or
(b) U.S. Mail to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training
Administration, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, Chicago National
Processing Center, 536 South Clark Street, 9th floor, Chicago, Illinois
60605-1509.
In order to ensure prompt and effective processing of the
notification, the Department requests that the employer's notice
include at a minimum the following information:
1. The reason(s) for notification or late notification, if
applicable;
2. The date of abandonment or termination;
3. The number of H-2A worker(s) and/or other worker(s) in
corresponding employment who abandoned or was/were terminated for
cause, and the name of each such H-2A worker and/or worker in
corresponding employment, each employee's last known address (other
than employer-provided housing);
4. The Application/Certification number(s); and
5. The employer's name; address, telephone number, and Federal
Employer Identification Number (FEIN).
The NPC will also accept a copy of the written notification of
abandonment or termination for cause submitted by the employer to DHS
as long as it contains all of the information listed above and is
submitted to the NPC via one of the means enumerated in this Notice.
Failure to provide notice or failure to provide timely notice may lead
to a finding of noncompliance with the transportation and subsistence
expenses and/or the three-fourths guarantee provisions as set forth in
20 CFR 655.122(n).
Signed in Washington, DC, this 8th day of April 2011.
Jane Oates,
Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-8969 Filed 4-13-11; 8:45 am]
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