Apr 27, 2012

Judge Blocks H2B Wage RuleSource: ANLA

On April 26, a federal judge in northern Florida issued a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Labor from implementing a new rule that would have fundamentally altered the H2B temporary and seasonal worker program that is important to many greenhouse, nursery and landscape industry employers.

The American Nursery and Landscape Assocation and a growing number of state nursery and landscape associations have provided various types of support for the legal battle, brought by a range of plaintiffs including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, PLANET, and other allies.

Judge Rodgers issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Department of Labor from implementing the program rule. The rule was set to take effect April 27.

The ruling also will impact DOL’s plans to implement the wage rule on October 1. While the ruling was in Florida, the decision applies nationwide.

According to ANLA, the Department of Justice will likely appeal the decision, but any legal challenge is expected to take a quite a while to to be resolved.