Agriculture is rife with labor violations and abuse, but thanks to a new rule going into effect this month, the industry’s most vulnerable migrant H-2A workers now have better protections to organize against unfair treatment from American employers…

The new rule, Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States, will go into effect on June 28 and focuses on what DOL calls “worker self-advocacy.” Namely, H-2A workers can now better engage in advocacy regarding their working conditions because the range of activities protected by anti-retaliation provisions has expanded.

…under DOL’s new rule, H-2A workers can now engage in “collective action and concerted activity for mutual aid and protection.” In practice, this means that H-2A workers can now decline to attend “captive audience” meetings where employers attempt to dissuade workers from joining unions or engaging in other protected activities.

Seasonal farmworkers can now also consult with service providers, including legal aid and labor organizations, at their employer-furnished housing. There is no overstating the importance of this development, according to farmworker organizers and advocates…

Some of the new rule’s provisions simply clarify longstanding protections that have proven difficult for DOL to enforce…

Employers and industry groups have come out in full force against DOL’s new rule…