Labor Certainty for Food Security Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6083 To create a nonimmigrant H–2C work visa program for agricultural workers, to make mandatory and permanent requirements relating to use of an electronic employment eligibility verification system, and for other pur- poses. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 4, 2020 Mr. YOHO (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. DUNN, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. BARR, Mr. BUDD, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. CASE, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, and Mr. NORMAN) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To create a nonimmigrant H–2C work visa program for agricultural workers, to make mandatory and permanent requirements relating to use of an electronic employment eligibility verification system, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Labor Certainty for Food Security Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6083.IH H6083 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6083 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—AGRICULTURAL GUESTWORKER PROGRAM Sec. 101. Short title. Sec. 102. H–2C temporary agricultural work visa program. Sec. 103. Admission of temporary H–2C workers. Sec. 104. Mediation. Sec. 105. Migrant and seasonal agricultural worker protection. Sec. 106. Binding arbitration. Sec. 107. Coverage through health exchanges; required health insurance cov- erage. Sec. 108. Establishment of an agricultural worker employment pool. Sec. 109. Prevailing wage. Sec. 110. Portability of H–2C status. Sec. 111. Collection of taxes. Sec. 112. Effective dates; regulations; defined terms. Sec. 113. Report on compliance and violations. Sec. 114. Electronic filing system. TITLE II—LEGAL WORKFORCE ACT Sec. 201. Short title. Sec. 202. Employment eligibility verification process. Sec. 203. Employment eligibility verification system. Sec. 204. Recruitment, referral, and continuation of employment. Sec. 205. Good faith defense. Sec. 206. Preemption and States’ rights. Sec. 207. Repeal. Sec. 208. Penalties. Sec. 209. Fraud and misuse of documents. Sec. 210. Protection of Social Security Administration programs. Sec. 211. Fraud prevention. Sec. 212. Use of employment eligibility verification photo tool. Sec. 213. Identity Authentication Employment Eligibility Verification pilot pro- grams. Sec. 214. Inspector General audits. TITLE III—H–2A PROGRAM Sec. 301. Administration by Department of Agriculture. Sec. 302. Defining agricultural labor. Sec. 303. Wage structure and other amendments to H–2A program. Sec. 304. Biometric identification card. Sec. 305. Effective date. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H6083.IH H6083 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6083 IH TITLE I—AGRICULTURAL 1 GUESTWORKER PROGRAM 2 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 3 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Agricultural 4 Guestworker Reform Act’’. 5 SEC. 102. H–2C TEMPORARY AGRICULTURAL WORK VISA 6 PROGRAM. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a)(15)(H) of the Im- 8 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)) 9 is amended by striking ‘‘; or (iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘, or (c) 10 who is coming temporarily to the United States to perform 11 agricultural labor or services as an at-will employee; or 12 (iii)’’. 13 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 101(a) of such Act (8 14 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 15 lowing: 16 ‘‘(53) The term ‘agricultural labor or services’ has 17 the meaning given such term by the Secretary of Agri- 18 culture in regulations and includes— 19 ‘‘(A) agricultural labor as defined in sec- 20 tion 3121(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 21 1986; 22 ‘‘(B) agriculture as defined in section 3(f) 23 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 24 U.S.C. 203(f)); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6083.IH H6083 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6083 IH ‘‘(C) the handling, planting, drying, pack- 1 ing, packaging, processing, freezing, or grading 2 prior to delivery for storage of any agricultural 3 or horticultural commodity in its unmanufac- 4 tured state up to the point it is to be sold to 5 a warehouse for wholesale distribution; 6 ‘‘(D) all activities required for the prepara- 7 tion, processing or manufacturing of a product 8 of agriculture (as such term is defined in such 9 section 3(f)), or fish or shellfish, for further dis- 10 tribution; 11 ‘‘(E) forestry-related activities up to the 12 point of wholesale to a distribution facility; 13 ‘‘(F) aquaculture activities up to the point 14 of wholesale distribution; and 15 ‘‘(G) activities related to the breeding, 16 management, training, and racing of equines. 17 For purposes of labor involving meat or poultry proc- 18 essing, the term only includes the killing of animals and 19 the breakdown of their carcasses up to the point of whole- 20 sale distribution, and the collection, cleaning, grading, and 21 packaging of eggs up to the point of wholesale distribu- 22 tion.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6083.IH H6083 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6083 IH SEC. 103. ADMISSION OF TEMPORARY H–2C WORKERS. 1 (a) PROCEDURE FOR ADMISSION.—Chapter 2 of title 2 II of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1181 3 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 218 the fol- 4 lowing: 5 ‘‘SEC. 218A. ADMISSION OF TEMPORARY H–2C WORKERS. 6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 ‘‘(1) DISPLACE.—The term ‘displace’ means to 8 lay off a United States worker from the job for 9 which H–2C workers are sought. 10 ‘‘(2) JOB.—The term ‘job’ refers to all posi- 11 tions with an employer that— 12 ‘‘(A) involve essentially the same respon- 13 sibilities; 14 ‘‘(B) are held by workers with substan- 15 tially equivalent qualifications and experience; 16 and 17 ‘‘(C) are located in the same place or 18 places of employment. 19 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘employer’ includes 20 a single or joint employer, including— 21 ‘‘(A) an association acting as a joint em- 22 ployer with its members, who hires workers to 23 perform agricultural labor or services; and 24 ‘‘(B) any association of farmers, producers 25 or harvesters of aquatic products, or any fed- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6083.IH H6083 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6083 IH eration of such associations, which is operated 1 on a cooperative basis, and has the powers for 2 processing, preparing for market, handling, or 3 marketing farm or aquatic products. 4 ‘‘(4) FORESTRY-RELATED ACTIVITIES.—The 5 term ‘forestry-related activities’ includes tree plant- 6 ing, timber harvesting, logging operations, brush 7 clearing, vegetation management, herbicide applica- 8 tion, the maintenance of rights-of-way (including for 9 roads, trails, and utilities), regardless of whether 10 such right-of-way is on forest land, and the har- 11 vesting of pine straw. 12 ‘‘(5) H–2C WORKER.—The term ‘H–2C worker’ 13 means a nonimmigrant described in section 14 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(c). 15 ‘‘(6) LAY OFF.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘lay off’— 17 ‘‘(i) means to cause a worker’s loss of 18 employment, other than through a dis- 19 charge for inadequate performance, viola- 20 tion of workplace rules, cause, voluntary 21 departure, voluntary retirement, or the ex- 22 piration of a grant or contract (other than 23 a temporary employment contract entered 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6083.IH H6083 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6083 IH into in order to evade a condition described 1 in paragraph (4) of subsection (b)); and 2 ‘‘(ii) does not include any situation in 3 which the worker is offered, as an alter- 4 native to such loss of employment, a simi- 5 lar position with the same employer at 6 equivalent or higher wages and benefits 7 than the position from which the employee 8 was discharged, regardless of whether or 9 not the employee accepts the offer. 10 ‘‘(B) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 11 paragraph is intended to limit an employee’s 12 rights under a collective bargaining agreement 13 or other employment contract. 14 ‘‘(7) UNITED STATES WORKER.—The term 15 ‘United States worker’ means any worker who is— 16 ‘‘(A) a citizen or national of the United 17 States; or 18 ‘‘(B) an alien who is lawfully admitted for 19 permanent residence, is admitted as a refugee 20 under section 207, or is granted asylum under 21 section 208. 22 ‘‘(b) PETITION.—An employer that seeks to employ 23 aliens as H–2C workers under this section shall file with 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6083.IH H6083 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6083 IH the Secretary of Homeland Security a petition attesting 1 to the following: 2 ‘‘(1) OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT.—The employer 3 will offer employment to the aliens on an at-will 4 basis. 5 ‘‘(2) TEMPORARY LABOR OR SERVICES.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The employer is seek- 7 ing to employ a specific number of H–2C work- 8 ers on a temporary basis and will provide com- 9 pensation to such workers at a wage rate no 10 less than that set forth in subsection (j)(2). 11 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this 12 paragraph, a worker is employed on a tem- 13 porary basis if the employer intends to employ 14 the worker for no longer than the time period 15 set forth in subsection (m)(1) (subject to the 16 exceptions in subsection (m)(3)). 17 ‘‘(3) BENEFITS, WAGES, AND WORKING CONDI- 18 TIONS.—The employer will provide, at a minimum, 19 the benefits, wages, and working conditions required 20 by subsection (j) to all workers employed in the job 21 for which the H–2C workers are sought. 22 ‘‘(4) NONDISPLACEMENT OF UNITED STATES 23 WORKERS.—The employer did not displace and will 24 not displace United States workers employed by the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6083.IH H6083 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6083 IH employer during the period of employment of the H– 1 2C workers and during the 30-day period imme- 2 diately preceding such period of employment in the 3 job for which the employer seeks approval to employ 4 H–2C workers. 5 ‘‘(5) RECRUITMENT.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The employer— 7 ‘‘(i) conducted adequate recruitment 8 before filing the petition; and 9 ‘‘(ii) was unsuccessful in locating suf- 10 ficient numbers of willing and qualified 11 United States workers for the job for 12 which the H–2C workers are sought. 13 ‘‘(B) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The re- 14 cruitment requirement under subparagraph (A) 15 is satisfied if the employer places a local job 16 order with the State workforce agency serving 17 each place of employment, except that nothing 18 in this subparagraph shall require the employer 19 to file an interstate job order under section 653 20 of title 20, Code of Federal Regulations. The 21 State workforce agency shall post the job order 22 on its official agency website for a minimum of 23 30 days and not later than 3 days after receipt 24 using the employment statistics system author- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6083.IH H6083 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6083 IH ized under section 15 of the Wagner-Peyser Act 1 (29 U.S.C. 49l–2). The Secretary of Labor 2 shall include links to the official websites of all 3 State workforce agencies on a single webpage of 4 the official website of the Department of Labor. 5 ‘‘(C) END OF RECRUITMENT REQUIRE- 6 MENT.—The requirement to recruit United 7 States workers for a job shall terminate on the 8 first day that work begins for any H–2C worker 9 for whom the petition was filed. 10 ‘‘(6) OFFERS TO UNITED STATES WORKERS.— 11 The employer has offered or will offer the job for 12 which the H–2C workers are sought to any eligible 13 United States workers who— 14 ‘‘(A) apply; 15 ‘‘(B) are qualified for the job; and 16 ‘‘(C) will be available at the time, at each 17 place, and for the duration, of need. 18 This requirement shall not apply to United States 19 workers who apply for the job on or after the first 20 day that work begins for the H–2C workers. 21 ‘‘(7) STRIKE OR LOCKOUT.—The job that is the 22 subject of the petition is not vacant because the 23 former workers in that job are on strike or locked 24 out in the course of a labor dispute. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6083.IH H6083 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6083 IH ‘‘(c) LIST.— 1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 2 Security shall maintain a list of the petitions filed 3 under this subsection, which shall— 4 ‘‘(A) be sorted by employer; and 5 ‘‘(B) include the number of H–2C workers 6 sought, the wage rate, the period of employ- 7 ment, each place of employment, and the date 8 of need for each alien. 9 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary of Home- 10 land Security shall make the list available for public 11 examination. 12 ‘‘(d) PETITIONING FOR ADMISSION.— 13 ‘‘(1) CONSIDERATION OF PETITIONS.—For peti- 14 tions filed and considered under this subsection— 15 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Homeland Security 16 may not require such petition to be filed more 17 than 28 days before the first date the employer 18 requires the labor or services of H–2C workers; 19 ‘‘(B) within the appropriate time period 20 under subparagraph (C) or (D), the Secretary 21 of Homeland Security shall— 22 ‘‘(i) approve the petition; 23 ‘‘(ii) reject the petition; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Apr 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6083.IH H6083 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6083 IH ‘‘(iii) determine that the petition is in- 1 complete or obviously inaccurate or that 2 the employer has not complied with the re- 3 quirements of subsection (b)(5)(A)(i) 4 (which the Secretary can ascertain by 5 verifying whether the employer has placed 6 a local [Text truncated for display. 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