Cultivating Compliance

[ Music ] NARRATOR: Our farmers and growers are among the most productive in the world, making the United States the supermarket for the globe. To stock those shelves it takes hundreds of thousands of workers - both domestic and guest workers - to plant, grow, harvest, and pack our crops. The key to maintaining this agricultural productivity and global advantage is to keep these workers safe and healthy on the job � and to pay them lawful wages for all the work they do. Cultivating Compliance: An Agricultural Guide to Federal Labor Law NARRATOR: The Department of Labor enforces laws to protect workers in the U.S. The intent of these laws is to provide safer, healthier places to work, to ensure fair pay for workers, to improve employers� ability to recruit and retain good workers, and to maintain fair competition. Complying with these labor laws is good for business because when everyone plays by the same set of rules, everyone wins. NARRATOR: to find the detailed information you need to protect your employees and your business. We�ll also explore the H2A Program which helps growers find the workers they need, and hear from growers who successfully use the H2A program. Lee Wicker, North Carolina Growers� Association Labor is the most important factor. It�s critical. We can�t grow sweet potatoes, cucumbers, other crops without these guys. They are part of our families for six to ten months out of the year. NARRATOR The Fair Labor Standards Act � the Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act - the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act These are some of the laws that apply to agricultural workers in the U.S. NARRATOR: This video will highlight labor law requirements that apply to your business. And don�t forget-- a confidential call to your local Wage and Hour office is an easy and free way to get compliance information and answer your questions. Our website - DOL.GOV/WHD - provides all the information you need. Justin Flores, Farm Labor Organizing Committee: There�re a lot of different legal requirements for growers and different worker protections that exist for workers at different levels of government NARRATOR: Here are the basics you need to know when you hire agricultural workers in the U.S. Employers must disclose the working terms and conditions of the jobs they are hiring for - for example, the kind of work the employee will be doing, how much they will be paid, how many hours they need to work, working conditions, and what kind of housing the employer will provide. This is important: To hire a worker who does not live locally year round, that worker must be provided a written contract before he takes the job, and that contract must be in a language the worker understands. This is information any worker needs before making a decision to leave home for a long period of time. NARRATOR: Accurate recordkeeping is important to every business, and agricultural businesses are no exception. Payroll records kept by growers must include the basics, like the names and addresses of all employees, their genders and occupations, information about each employee�s work week, and the way wages are paid, for example by the hour, or per week, or �piecework.� When a worker is paid by piece rate, the employer must keep track of the number of pieces picked or produced each day, as well as the number of hours worked. Keeping accurate and complete records is a key component of compliance. NARRATOR: Producing high-quality, high-yield crops - like sweet potatoes, lettuce, or tobacco - requires man-power - workers who are willing, experienced and qualified. When growers cannot find enough domestic workers to meet this need, the H2A program can help. NARRATOR: The H2A program is part of the Immigration and Nationality Act. H2A refers to a special type of visa issued to non-immigrant workers � or �guest workers� - who come into the U.S. for temporary or seasonal employment. Qualified U.S. employers can hire these non-immigrant workers when U.S. workers are not available. The Wage Hour Division makes sure workers with H2A visas are treated as the law requires, and that U.S. workers aren�t passed over in favor of the guest workers. With the help of Wage and Hour and its partner organizations, growers are using the H2A program to hire the workers they need. James T. Hill, Grower, Kinston NC: If we didn�t have the H2A program� Tobacco, sweet potatoes and lettuce probably would be eliminated, because the local labor simply is not available. It doesn�t make any difference what sort of price you pay or whatever. They simply aren�t here. NARRATOR: Before you can apply for the H2A program, you must meet specific qualifications. Here�s an overview of some of the requirements for H2A employers. The work to be performed must consist of agricultural labor or services, such as the planting, raising, cultivating, harvesting, or production of any agricultural or horticultural commodity; The work must be fulltime, at least 35 hours per work week; The need for the work must be seasonal or temporary in nature The employer must pay the worker�s travel expense to the site and must guarantee to provide at least � of the work hours called for in the contract. For a complete and comprehensive list of requirements check the website. NARRATOR: All of the requirements we�ve outlined so far - about disclosure, recordkeeping, rates of pay, housing and transportation - also apply to H2A guest-workers. There are some additional requirements that apply only to the H2A program. But keep in mind that all of the regulations that apply to H2A workers also apply to non-H2A workers who are doing the same work. Lee Wicker: We realize the sacrifices that they make to come to the United States to work for us and be our partners, so that they can send their money back to their families. And so we want them to be happy and comfortable and as productive as possible. [m1] NARRATOR: Labor law compliance benefits your workers and is good for your business. We encourage each of you to use the information and resources provided by the Wage and Hour Division to do what�s right for your employees -- by Cultivating Compliance. [m1]Do we need this quote? He is already in a bunch and we already have an ER and EE representative.