Labor Dep’t Launches National H-2A Electronic Job Registry

The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) launched a new National Electronic Job Registry for H-2A job orders on July 8, 2010. Under a final rule published in February 2010, the agency must post all job orders filed in connection with H-2A applications until the end of 50 percent of the contract period. This requirement, the notice explains, is intended to “improve the transparency of agricultural jobs available to U.S. workers and provide an unprecedented level of public access to one of the most frequently requested types of records maintained by the Department.”

The job order information is searchable by common data points such as case number, employer name, area of intended employment, work contract period, job title, and primary crop or agricultural activity. All search results are displayed in a table format with sortable column headers. The public is able to view a summary of the job order as well as download a copy of the entire job order and all attachments in Adobe PDF format.

The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) noted that since March 15, 2010, it has received more than 620 H-2A applications requesting nearly 11,000 workers. Approximately 450 active H-2A job orders are available to the public.

Public access to the job registry is available through the OFLC iCERT Visa Portal System at http://icert.doleta.gov. Questions related to job orders placed on the H-2A job registry may be e-mailed to H-2Ajobregistry.chicago@dol.gov. This H-2A job registry Help Desk e-mailbox is monitored from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday. Members of the public may also call the job registry Help Desk at (312) 886-8000 (not toll-free).

Resources:

• The notice, which was published on July 1, 2010, and includes additional details about how the registry will be updated (PDF)
• Fact sheet (PDF)