NCAE files lawsuit
The National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) and several agricultural associations have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky challenging the Department of Labor’s new rule, “Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States.”
According to NCAE, the rule violates constitutional due process rights and imposes burdensome requirements on farmers. The rule also permits temporary foreign agricultural workers to unionize, a right not extended to U.S. farmworkers.
A recent ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued an injunction halting the rule in 17 states, but it remains in effect elsewhere.
NCAE president Michael Marsh criticized the Department of Labor’s response to the injunction. “Rather than taking heed of the judge’s wise words and withdraw the rule in its entirety, the Department decided to further complicate matters for farm and ranch families,” Marsh said.
The NCAE hopes the Kentucky court will ultimately overturn the rule.
NCAE represents agricultural employers on labor issues. The Department of Labor has not commented on the ongoing lawsuit.
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