Managing a farm workforce can be a heavy lift. That’s because agricultural employers need to keep up with farm labor laws and workplace regulations that seem to constantly change. That’s why we created this zero-waste resource for ag professionals and agribusinesses. Read on for the latest updates impacting farm labor management and HR compliance in your industry for Winter 2026.

Table of Contents

Nationwide

• H-2A Wage Compliance
• New “No Tax on Overtime” Rules
• Workplace Safety

State Specific

• California
• Colorado
• Maine
• Minnesota
• New Jersey
• New York

Nationwide

H-2A Wage Compliance

• Snapshot: The US DOL’s new framework for calculating the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for H-2A job orders significantly lowers wage costs for H-2A agricultural employers and helps prevent severe labor shortages across the farm industry. However, the interim final rule behind these changes – which is expected to be replaced by a “final” final rule any day now – is under challenge in a federal lawsuit brought by the United Farm Workers. The federal government is opposing the UFW’s request for the court to set the rule aside, and Fisher Phillips attorneys filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the National Council of Agricultural Employers and the California Farm Bureau Federation in support of that opposition.
• Takeaway: Stay tuned to see how the UFW’s lawsuit to the interim final rule plays out in court, and whether the DOL’s “final” final rule reflects any of the comments submitted...

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