Supreme Court Rules On H-2A Worker Reimbursement For Travel, Visa Expenses

Posted by Rosemary Gordon|June 18, 2014

In March, several agricultural employers and organizations, including Western Growers, signed on to a brief supporting Nevada-based onion producer Peri & Sons Farms’ request for review to the U.S. Supreme Court. According to Western Growers, after an adverse ruling in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Peri & Sons’ petition asked the Supreme Court to consider two issues:

“whether H-2A employers are responsible for reimbursing foreign workers’ pre-employment travel and immigration expenses during the first work week as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act, or after the employee has completed 50% of the contract, as provided by the H-2A regulations; and
whether deference is owed to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) interpretation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its regulations.”

On June 16, the Supreme Court denied Peri & Sons Farms’ petition for certiori. As a result, the decision to require reimbursement of pre-employment travel and immigration expenses during the first work week stands.

According to Western Growers, the case reaches beyond the H-2A employer community. The article states: “The Ninth Circuit concluded that it was required to defer to the DOL’s interpretation of an ambiguous regulation, and that interpretation decided the case. Unfortunately, after the Supreme Court’s denial of review, such deference to an executive agency’s interpretation of its own regulations remains alive and well.”

Click here to read more from Western Growers.