September 29, 2008

ISSUE 1238

About 200 attendees representing ag employers from Florida, Virginia and California gathered Sept. 25-27 at the 2008 Agricultural Labor Relations Forum in Orlando to get the latest information on immigration legislation, the H-2A program, labor regulations and more.

The forum opened with a presentation from Joe Sigg of the Arizona Farm Bureau on a sweeping immigration law passed in that state last year.

Workshops included an overview of workers’ compensation, worker protection standards, the Fair Labor Standards Act and hours-worked issues, enforcement priorities of the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, and employers’ responsibilities under the Migrant and Seasonal Worker Agricultural Protection Act.

The forum concluded with remarks by an agent with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Orlando, and a detailed look at accessing and using the H-2A guest worker program by Walter Kates, FFVA’s director of Labor Relations.

“We’ve received many positive remarks about the breadth and substance of the presentations and workshops,” said Mike Carlton, executive director of the Florida Specialty Crop Foundation, which presents the forum. “The fact that this event is so well-attended year after year shows how important these issues are to employers."