VERIFIED NEWS · FINAL RULE

Labor Department rescinds migrant-farmworker coordination rule

The rule removes a 1980 framework for coordination among three Labor Department components. It does not end the H-2A program or repeal the federal statutes that protect migrant and seasonal agricultural workers.

Agricultural workers harvesting ripe produce by hand in an Idaho field

Official USDA photograph by Kirsten Strough, taken July 20, 2012 and uploaded March 15, 2021; public domain. It shows workers harvesting produce in Fruitland, Idaho. The image is illustrative and does not depict a Labor Department inspection, an H-2A determination, or the 2026 rulemaking. Original USDA media record ↗

By U.S. Immigration Brief Editorial DeskPublished August 31, 2026Last verified August 31, 2026

What the final rule removes

The Labor Department is removing and reserving 29 CFR part 42. The 1980 regulations required national and regional coordinated-enforcement committees, specified meetings and plans, designated farm-labor contacts, and prescribed collection and review of enforcement information across department components.

Why the department says the framework is obsolete

The final rule says the framework refers to an agency structure and a statute that no longer exist, and that several of its formal committees had largely stopped operating decades ago. After considering eight comments opposing the proposal, the department said current coordination occurs through agriculture task forces, regional calls, referrals, joint investigations, outreach, and newer statutory programs.

What the rescission does not do

The rule does not repeal the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, or the H-2A program. It does not change an immigration status, cancel a labor certification, or announce an ICE or CBP operation. The department also states that the rescission creates no new information-collection or recordkeeping requirement.

Connection to H-2A

The preamble identifies H-2A as one of the newer legal frameworks developed after part 42 was adopted. The department says Employment and Training Administration certification work and Wage and Hour Division enforcement under H-2A will continue through mechanisms outside the rescinded coordination rule.

Primary federal sources

Corrections: No corrections have been made. A later amendment, court order, or agency implementation notice will be labeled and verified against a new federal record.