Immigration Update
Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits, and Security Act of 2005
The Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits, and Security Act of 2005 (AgJOBS) was introduced
in the U.S. Senate (S. 359) and House of Representatives (H.R. 884) in early February 2005. If enacted, it will
have a profound impact on all agricultural employers, including the mushroom industry, by providing an "adjustment of status" to workers currently in the United States without legal authorization. The bill has widespread support throughout the agricultural community, as well as from a bipartisan group of conservative and liberal members of Congress. It is hoped that the bill will be voted on before Congress recesses for the year.
Workers will be required to earn their legal status; it will not simply be given to them.
They must show proof of employment in the agricultural sector for the lesser of 575 hours or
100 working days during a consecutive 12 months in the 18 months prior to December 31, 2004.
The workers applying for an adjustment of status must be able to furnish records from employers,
unions or other reliable source proving their work history. Their application for legal status
must be made within the 18-month period after the enactment of the law.
The workers applying for legal status will obtain a temporary resident status and will
be allowed to remain in the United States year-round. They will encounter the same admissibility
requirements as any other alien, but they are entitled to a one-time reprieve from being ineligible
due to unlawful presence. The adjusted workers have to fulfill an annual agricultural work
requirement, to be satisfied during the qualifying status period. They must work the lesser
of 2060 hours, or 360 days, during a six-year period after the enactment of the law. Within
these parameters, the workers must work at least 75 days per each of the three years through
August 31, 2006, and at least 240 days during the first three years following their adjustment
to a temporary resident. They will also be permitted to work outside the agricultural sector
while qualifying.
The spouses and children of adjusting workers will have certain basic rights. They cannot
be deported or employed while the worker is in temporary legal status. Once the worker has
obtained permanent resident status, he or she may then apply to adjust the status of his
or her spouse and any minor children. Workers are also entitled to arbitration concerning
a claim of loss of qualifying days due to termination without just cause or through injury
or disease. However, they may only use the results of the arbitration for the credit of days
lost, and not for any other litigation.
There are numerous reforms to the H-2A Guest Worker Program under the new AgJOBS plan.
The limitation on covered job opportunities is changed to cover both temporary and seasonal
agricultural jobs, so that the maximum duration of either category is 10 months. There is a
change to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR), in that if Congress fails to establish a new
rate within three years of enactment, the existing AEWR's will be adjusted only to a maximum
of four percent annually, based upon the CPI. The housing stipulations remain that an employer
must provide housing or a housing allowance. Transportation reimbursements remain the same, with
the addition that the workers not be reimbursed if traveling less than 100 miles, or if he or
she does not reside in employer supplied housing. Preference is still given to U.S. workers
until 50 percent of the period of employment has passed, and employers may use normal selection
criteria that are relevant to the job.
Of the 1.6 million agricultural workers in the United States, it is estimated that at
least half are without legal authorization to work here. This creates a very unstable working
community for agricultural employers. These workers know that they must live very carefully
and be sure not to attract any attention, for fear their illegality will be exposed. This bill
would provide these workers with the stability and the rights that they need to stay and work
in this country, and it would in doing so also provide the employers with a confident, legal,
steady and well-trained work force. In turn, this provides the consumer with the guarantee of
a safer food source, because the same workers are working for the same employer, who
consistently trains them in the most current food handling aspects of the industry.
This bill is a win-win situation for all concerned parties.
The sponsor of the Senate bill is Sen. Larry Craig (ID), and the sponsor of the House bill is Rep. Chris Cannon (UT).
For an updated list of co-sponsors in the Senate, please go to: AgJOBS Senate Co-Sponsors
For an updated list of co-sponsors in the House, please go to: AgJOBS House Co-Sponsors
For more information on the legislation or for assistance
in contacting your member of Congress, please call the AMI Washington office at (202) 842-4344.
|
