On Thursday, Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a partnership to help agriculture find labor. The partnership between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor seeks to help facilitate the identification of foreign and domestic workers, specifically those that may be available and eligible to transfer to other U.S. agricultural sector employers to fulfill needs under existing regulatory authority during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Perdue said of the partnership, “Ensuring minimal disruption for our agricultural workforce during these uncertain times is a top priority for this administration.”

USDA and DOL have identified nearly 20,000 H-2A and H-2B certified positions that have expiring contracts in the coming weeks. There will be workers leaving these positions who could be available to transfer to a different employer’s labor certification. The data, available on the USDA's Website, includes the number of certified worker positions, the current employer name and contact, attorney/agent name and contact, and the worksite address.

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