BILOXI, Miss. — On September 7, 2011 the American Shrimp Processors Association (“ASPA”) filed suit against the Department of Labor to enjoin and overturn a Department of Labor (“DOL”) wage rulemaking that will gut the H-2B guest worker program and cause serious and irreparable harm to the US domestic shrimp industry. ASPA joins a large coalition, including crawfish, sugar cane, forestry, outdoor amusement, and hotel associations, that rely upon H-2B workers as a critical link in the chain of production.
Since 1996 the DOL has consistently utilized a standard practice for determining the prevailing wages that apply to H-2B guest workers. That practice was formalized in a 2008 rulemaking. Shortly thereafter a coalition representing immigrant labor and others filed suit in Pennsylvania alleging violations of the Administrative Procedure Act. After losing the initial challenge on public comment procedural grounds, the DOL self-initiated a complete overhaul of the prevailing wage determination resulting in a massive increase in prevailing wages paid to guest workers. This new rule was initially set to begin January 1, 2012 but has now been accelerated to begin October 1, 2011. In some cases, the new rule will cause pay increases as high as 104%.
These pay increases will have a devastating impact on the domestic shrimp industry. “The federal government is gutting the H-2B program at a time when shrimp businesses are already on their knees,” noted ASPA Executive Director David Veal. “There is simply no way these businesses will be able to pay these increases, which will as sure as I’m standing here cause them to let go not only guest workers but American workers.” Domestic shrimp processors operate on “razor thin margins and will not be able to pass this cost on to the consumer in a market that is governed by low priced imports.”
The H-2B program is designed to allow temporary workers to fill jobs that US citizens cannot or will not take. Employers must first advertise the jobs inside the US before allowing guest workers to fill the void. Edward Hayes, counsel to ASPA and lead attorney for ASPA in the lawsuit, declared that “the most shocking thing is the timing. The Department is hastening this rule change after these employers have already budgeted and planned for the year. The impact of this change on our small and medium sized shrimp businesses will be significant, and will echo up and down the supply and sales chain.”
Source: American Shrimp Processors Association