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Loftness Adds Lightweight Mulching Head For Compact Excavators
Jessica Schwartz
H-2B: 35,000 More Visas Being Released To Answer Demand
It should enable more H-2B workers into the country by early May. It’s no April Fool’s Day joke. The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) reported that yesterday the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a joint temporary final rule to release an additional 35,000 H-2B visas for seasonal non-agricultural workers for the second half of the year beginning on or after April 1, 2022, through September 30, 2022. That brings the total number of supplemental H-2B visas released by the Administration for FY 2022 to 55,000, nearly double the most supplemental visas ever released in one year. There are 23,500 visas available to returning H-2B workers who received a visa in the past three years. The remaining 11,500 visas, which are exempt from the returning worker requirement, are earmarked for Northern Triangle countries, including Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador employees. Citing the pressures on employers to find qualified workers, DHS Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said, “informed by current demand in the labor market, today we are announcing the availability of an additional 35,000 H-2B visas that will help to support American businesses and expand legal pathways for workers seeking to come to the United States.” “NALP, on behalf of the landscape industry, commends Secretary Mayorkas and Walsh for understanding the critical need to supplement our seasonal workforce with additional H-2B visas during an unprecedented tight labor market,” stated Andrew Bray. “This announcement of additional H-2B visas in excess of 30,000 and coming before the April 1 date of need is ...
Record High H-2B Demand; Less Than 25% Chance To Receive Workers
In an already difficult labor market, landscape companies currently have less than a 25% chance to access much-needed guest workers through the H-2B program. This news comes from the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) who released an Action Alert on Wednesday. According to NALP, the Department of Labor (DOL) has received 136,555 worker requests through the program while there are only 33,000 visas available. The H-2B Returning Worker Exception Act of 2021, or H.R. 3897, proposes several key reforms to the program. Most important among these changes is the exemption of returning H-2B workers from the current annual quota, which the U.S. Chamber of Commerce deemed “antiquated and outdated.” According to the Chamber, “In addition, this bipartisan legislation would implement several improvements to the H-2B application process, including requiring the DOL to maintain a publicly accessible online job registry and establishing a single digital platform for the many requests associated with the H-2B process. These measures would significantly improve overall H-2B visa processing. Finally, the legislation would establish new H-2B program integrity measures and anti-fraud provisions, which would further protect the interests of American workers and H-2B workers alike.” In Wednesday’s Action Alert, NALP wrote that the Administration needs to immediately release all legally authorized supplemental visas for both the first and second half caps, and have Congress pass immediate cap relief. “Now more than ever we need to push for co-sponsors on H.R. 3897 so that we can make a push to insert a returning worker exception into ...
Update From NALP: 22,000 Supplemental H-2B Visas Expected
A total of 22,000 supplemental H-2B visas are expected to be offered in the coming months. In late April, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) reached a deal to lift the existing 66,000 annual cap, which has already been exhausted. Here’s a summary of an update from Andrew Bray, VP of government relations with the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), found on the NALP site: These additional visas are a result of the discretionary authority granted to DHS by Congress in the FY 21 Appropriations. The official rule has not been published and many details remain unknown with regards to: timing; how DHS/DOL will handle another lottery; and if DHS/DOL will require any additional recruiting of U.S. workers. We do know that 6,000 of the 22,000 will be set aside to go exclusively to guest workers from the Northern Triangle Central American countries (El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras). Bray continues later in the statement: The announcement is a bittersweet win for the landscape industry. We fought for months to include the language in the FY 21 appropriations to grant DHS the discretionary authority. We then fought for months after the cap was hit in February to urge DHS to act. And now the results of our efforts are 22,000 additional visas that would never have materialized without our efforts. We wish that the number was larger and had come sooner, but for historical perspective the Trump Administration did the following over the last ...
Is Landscaping An “Essential Business” In Your Region? Updated March 31
Updated: March 31, 2020 In this time of COVID-19 crisis, can you still be operating your lawn or landscape business? This seemingly simple question has become baffling complex. With many states ordering “shelter in place,” and others telling citizens to “stay at home,” even terminology can be confusing. As of this writing, 32 states have told people to essentially remain home, while another 12 states have orders in parts of the state, either by county or city. (A list of continually updated regions from The New York Times can be found here.) Failure to comply with these orders can in some cases mean fines, mandatory business closure, and even imprisonment. Yet, an “essential business” is exempt. And herein lies the confusion: With differing details in state directives, is lawn care or landscaping considered an “essential business” in your region? NALP Seeking Clarity The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) is striving to provide these answers with a just-launched page of State by State COVID-19 Guidance. According to the NALP, “In states that we do not have explicit language exempting the landscape industry, we are continuing to communicate with those officials to provide further evidence of the essential nature of landscape services… This remains a rapidly developing situation and we will update this website as we learn new information.” In other words, even NALP is not always getting clear answers, but they are advocating for the industry as an “essential business” and seeking clarification across the U.S. (For NALP’s official statement, ...
