Georgia Federal Court Enjoins USDOL H-2A Program “Worker Protection” Rule

A federal court in Georgia on August 26 issued a preliminary injunction that halts the Department of Labor’s implementation of a disturbing regulation that would have forced farms to allow temporary foreign agricultural workers to unionize. The case was brought by Southeastern Legal Foundation on behalf of Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Association, Miles Berry Farm, and a coalition of seventeen states.

The FELS Newsletter reported on Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su’s appearance in Sebastopol to announce the role in the May 2024 edition, USDOL Finalizes H-2A Program Rule.

In the injunction, the court explains that “[a]gencies may play the sorcerer’s apprentice but not the sorcerer himself. The Final Rule is an attempt by the [Department] to play the sorcerer. The [Department] may assist Congress but may not become Congress.”

The court’s order further states that “Administrative agencies, including the DOL, cannot create law, and the DOL cannot create rights that Congress has not. The DOL cannot make both executive rules and congressional laws.”

A nationwide injunction was not deemed appropriate by the court. As a result, the injunction is effective only in Georgia, Kansas, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.