Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/183921
fieldreport: FieldReport: news, trends & cool stuff To Be, Or Not H-2B by Lauren Heartsill Dowdle With this program's wage rule in question, landscapers could be the hardest hit if Congress and the courts don't stop it. G ood seasonal employees can be difficult to come by – and a new rule might make it even harder for landscape business owners to find reliable crews. Landscape professionals and organizations from 34 states met in Washington in July for the Professional Landcare Network's (PLANET) Legislative Day on the Hill. And one of the main topics up for discussion was the recently enacted H-2B wage rule. To fully understand the impact this rule could have on the industry, it's important to understand how the H-2B program – which allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire nonimmigrants for seasonal labor – currently works and what is changing. Employers must provide the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) their open position's description, and prior to the rule change, the DOL would determine the corresponding job level for the position – ranging from Level 1 to 4. Each level has a wage requirement, which is created using Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey data. The employer would be required to pay the foreign seasonal worker at least the wage range minimum for the position. o c t o b e r 2013 TLC1013_FieldReport.indd 7 TotalLa nd s c a p e C a re . c o m 7 9/25/13 2:11 PM