[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 184 (Friday, September 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58054-58056]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20677]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency

[Docket ID FSA-2022-0013]


Request for Information and Stakeholder Listening Sessions on 
Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection Pilot Program

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, Department of Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice of request for information.

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SUMMARY: The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is hosting three listening 
sessions for public input about a recently announced planned farm labor 
stabilization and protection pilot grant program focused on improving 
the resiliency of our food and agricultural supply chain by addressing 
current labor shortages in agriculture, reducing irregular migration 
through increased use of legal pathways, and improving labor 
protections for farmworkers. FSA is interested in input from 
agricultural employer organizations, labor unions, farmworker 
advocates, farmworkers, and other relevant stakeholders. We invite 
stakeholders to participate in the listening session that best aligns 
with the perspective they are able and willing to offer to FSA. All 
listening sessions will be posted publicly and open to the public for 
registration.

DATES: Registration: To attend any of the listening sessions, you must 
register by September 28, 2022.
    Listening sessions:
     Employer organizations: September 28, 2022, 11 a.m. EST;
     Labor unions: September 28, 2022, 2 p.m. EST; and
     Farmworker advocacy organizations: September 29, 2 p.m. 
EST.
    Comments: We will consider comments that we receive by October 24, 
2022.

[[Page 58055]]


ADDRESSES: 
    Registration: To register, go to fsa.usda.gov/farmworkers.
    Comments: We invite you to send comments in response to this 
notice. In addition, if you provide oral comments at the listening 
session, please also provide your comments in writing. Send your 
comments through the method below:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID FSA-2022-0013. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    All written comments received will be publicly available on 
www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Cronin, phone (202) 692-4928 or 
email: [email protected] or [email protected]. Persons with 
disabilities who require alternative means for communication should 
contact the USDA Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FSA is hosting three listening sessions for 
public input about a recently announced planned farm labor 
stabilization and protection pilot grant program focused on improving 
the resiliency of our food and agricultural supply chain by addressing 
current labor shortages in agriculture, reducing irregular migration 
through increased use of legal pathways, and improving labor 
protections for farmworkers. The farm labor stabilization and 
protection pilot grant program will use up to $65 million in American 
Rescue Plan Act funding to provide support for agricultural employers 
to hire seasonal workers from the northern Central American countries 
Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador and implement robust labor 
standards to promote a safe, healthy work environment for both U.S. 
workers and workers hired under the seasonal H-2A visa program. The H-2 
category allows U.S. employers to bring noncitizens into the U.S. on 
temporary agricultural (H-2A) visas.
    FSA is interested in input from agricultural employer 
organizations, labor unions, farmworker advocates, farmworkers, and 
other relevant stakeholders. From agricultural employer organizations, 
FSA is interested in understanding the challenges that employers face 
in securing a stable workforce; the incentives employers seek from the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in order to hire workers from 
northern Central American countries under the seasonal H-2A visa 
program; and the enhanced labor standards that employers are willing to 
accept in order to receive USDA support to stabilize the workforce. 
From labor unions and the broader farmworker advocacy community, FSA is 
interested in understanding the scope and set of robust worker 
protections, along with the best methods for verification of those 
protections, that will help improve labor standards and promote a 
safer, healthier work environment for both U.S. workers and workers 
hired from northern Central American countries under the seasonal H-2A 
visa program as well as the challenges workers currently face in 
accessing those protections and proposed solutions within statutory 
authority. Questions for each of the groups are provided below. We 
invite stakeholders to participate in the listening session that best 
aligns with the perspective they are able and willing to offer to FSA.
    All listening sessions will be posted publicly and open to the 
public for registration.
    The listening sessions will provide an opportunity for stakeholders 
and interested members of the public to share their thoughts about how 
FSA can best support agricultural employers in meeting their labor 
needs, while improving worker protections for both U.S. and H-2A 
workers.
    Each listening session will begin with brief opening remarks from 
USDA officials. Individual speakers providing oral comments will be 
limited to 5 minutes each; however, if all speakers can be accommodated 
within the allotted time for the listening session, individual speaking 
times may be adjusted at the written request of the stakeholder (see 
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section above). As noted above, we 
request that speakers providing oral comments also provide a written 
copy of their comments by October 24, 2022. All stakeholders and 
interested members of the public are welcome to register to provide 
oral and written comments; however, based on the listening session time 
or topic area constraints, FSA may not be able to allocate time for all 
registered attendees to provide oral comments during the listening 
sessions.
    The purpose of the listening sessions is for FSA to hear from 
agricultural employer organizations, labor unions, farmworker advocacy 
organizations, farmworkers, and other interested members of the public. 
In your comments, provide your input about the farm labor stabilization 
and protection pilot grant program, changes, and anything else that may 
be helpful for FSA to be aware of or consider. We welcome public input 
that we can factor into decisions that need to be made to implement the 
provisions of the farm labor stabilization and protection pilot grant 
program.

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              Date                       Time                Link
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September 28, 2022..............  11 a.m. EST.......  fsa.usda.gov/farmworkers farmworkers.
September 28, 2022..............  2 p.m. EST........  fsa.usda.gov/farmworkers farmworkers.
September 29, 2022..............  2 p.m. EST........  fsa.usda.gov/farmworkers farmworkers.
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    FSA is interested in all comments but requests input from key 
stakeholders on specific topics.
    The following are questions for agricultural employers:
    1. What barriers and challenges do agricultural employers currently 
face in accessing the H-2A visa program? What specific barriers and 
challenges do agricultural employers face in hiring workers from 
northern Central America?
    2. Do agricultural employers have specific feedback on the housing 
components of the H-2A visa program? What challenges do you face 
related to housing?
    3. What incentives are employers seeking from USDA to improve their 
ability to hire workers from northern Central American countries under 
the seasonal H-2A visa program?
    4. What enhanced worker protections and labor standards are 
employers willing to accept in order to receive USDA support to 
stabilize the workforce? What mechanisms would be helpful in achieving 
these enhanced protections and standards?
    5. What suggestions do you have to help ensure compliance for any 
additional standards required by recipients of grants as part of this 
farm labor stabilization and protection pilot grant program?
    The following are questions for labor unions:
    1. What barriers or challenges do farmworkers, specifically those 
in northern Central American countries, face in participating in the H-
2A visa program?
    2. What do you recommend to enhance farmworker protections, 
including during recruitment and employment? What methods do you 
recommend for enforcement and verification of those protections that 
will promote a safer, healthier work environment for both U.S. workers 
and workers hired from northern Central American countries under the 
seasonal H-2A visa program?
    3. What suggestions do you have to help ensure compliance for any 
additional standards required by

[[Page 58056]]

recipients of grants as part of this farm labor stabilization and 
protection pilot grant program?
    4. What recommendations do you have to increase farmworker 
awareness of their resources and worker rights both for workers within 
the United States and for H-2A visa holders in their country of origin?
    The following are questions for farmworker advocacy organizations:
    1. What barriers or challenges do farmworkers, specifically those 
in northern Central American countries, face in participating in the H-
2A visa program?
    2. What do you recommend to enhance farmworker protections, 
including during recruitment and employment? What methods do you 
recommend for enforcement and verification of those protections that 
will promote a safer, healthier work environment for both U.S. workers 
and workers hired from northern Central American countries under the 
seasonal H-2A visa program?
    3. What suggestions do you have to help ensure compliance for any 
additional standards required by recipients of grants as part of this 
farm labor stabilization and protection pilot grant program?
    4. What recommendations do you have to increase farmworker 
awareness of their resources and worker rights both for workers within 
the United States and for H-2A visa holders in their country of origin?

Instructions for Attending the Meeting

    All persons wishing to attend the listening session must register 
at fsa.usda.gov/farmworkers by September 28, 2022. To register, 
information will be required including:
     Attendee contact information (email and phone number);
     Organization representative information (organization name 
and representative's title within the organization); and
     If you would like to speak, provide written comments.
    All written comments received will be publicly available on 
www.regulations.gov.
    If you require special accommodations, such as a sign language 
interpreter, use the contact information above. The listening session 
location is accessible to persons with disabilities.

Meeting Accommodation Request

    Instructions for registering for this meeting can be obtained by 
contacting Linda Cronin by or before the deadline.
    If you are a person requiring reasonable accommodation, please make 
requests in advance for sign language interpretation, assistive 
listening devices, or other reasonable accommodation, including 
language translation, to Linda Cronin as identified in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section above. Determinations for reasonable 
accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

USDA Non-Discrimination Policy

    In accordance with Federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights 
regulations and policies, USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, 
and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are 
prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, 
religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual 
orientation, disability, age, marital status, family or parental 
status, income derived from a public assistance program, political 
beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in 
any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases 
apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by 
program or incident.
    Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of 
communication for program information (for example, braille, large 
print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the 
responsible Agency or USDA TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and 
TTY) or (844) 433-2774 (toll-free nationwide). Additionally, program 
information may be made available in languages other than English.
    To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA 
Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at https://www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-a-program-discrimination-complaint and 
at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in 
the letter all the information requested in the form. To request a copy 
of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form 
or letter to USDA by mail to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of 
the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC 20250-9410 or email: [email protected].
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

William Marlow,
Acting Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
[FR Doc. 2022-20677 Filed 9-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-E2-P