In July, the Third Circuit ruled that the Department of Labor (DOL) cannot adjudicate certain employment-related claims essential to its mission, citing the landmark 2024 U.S. Supreme Court case, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy. DOL recently requested rehearing en banc. But in the meantime, DOL’s ability to vindicate workers’ rights remains unclear.
The potential demise of a category of DOL adjudications began in an asparagus farm. In 2015, ninety-six foreign employees arrived to work at Sun Valley Orchards. Sun Valley was a New Jersey farm that participated in the H-2A visa program, which enables farms to hire foreign nonimmigrant workers on a temporary basis when domestic recruitment efforts fail. Employers that hire H-2A workers must make and adhere to employment contracts that follow several regulations governing working conditions and pay.
As required by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Sun Valley promised safe, no-cost housing; kitchen facilities; safe transportation to and from the worksite; and payment for at least 780 hours, unless the workers voluntarily left or were fired for cause.
But Sun Valley did not fulfill its obligations under the INA. Instead, the farm placed workers in insect-infested housing. Workers were transported in unsafe vehicles operated by drivers without valid driver’s licenses. And instead of providing access to a kitchen, Sun Valley put workers on a meal plan, charging them for every meal without notice.
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