H-2B Bill Introduced To Stop Onerous 2013 Emergency Wage Rule
Ask your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 2765House Resolution 2765, the Save Our Season Act of 2013, aims to promote the economic survival of seasonal and small businesses including golf facilities by ensuring the wages paid to H-2B workers are fair and reasonable. H.R. 2765 does this by blocking implementation of the new 2013 Department of Labor (DOL) emergency wage rule currently in effect, and allowing H-2B employers to continue with wage rules previously put in place. The new rule increases wages by at least 30% mid-season which puts a burden on seasonal and small businesses.
Specifically, H.R. 2765 outlines how wages are to be determined by H-2B employers. It includes the wage language in the recently passed Senate comprehensive immigration reform legislation and thus demonstrates a bipartisan approach to dealing with the H-2B wage problem.
Since 2010, DOL has targeted the H-2B program for elimination with tedious rule and program changes. A final 2011 wage rule sought to increase the wages paid to H-2B workers by 50% on average, well above reasonable economic levels. In 2011, Congress prevented this wage increase from being implemented.
After temporarily stopping the H-2B program, DOL issued a “new” wage rule April 23, 2013, which is essentially the same 2011 wage rule blocked by Congress.
GCSAA needs its members (especially H-2B employers) to ask their Representatives to help prevent the oppressive 2013 wage rule from putting golf facilities and other small and seasonal businesses in the country in financial jeopardy. Please send a letter to your Representative today and ask him or her to be a co-sponsor of H.R. 2765.
For help, please contact Kaelyn Seymour, GCSAA government relations specialist, at (800) 472-7878, ext. 3612.
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