UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF : AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYERS, : : Civil Action No.: 22-3569 (RC) Plaintiff, : : Re Document No.: 12 v. : : UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT : OF LABOR, et al., : : Defendants. : MEMORANDUM OPINION DENYING PLAINTIFF’S RENEWED MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION I. INTRODUCTION The National Council of Agricultural Employers (“NCAE” or “Plaintiff”) seeks relief from alleged violations of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) in connection with the promulgation of a Department of Labor (“DOL”) rule. 1 Plaintiff filed the Complaint on November 23, 2022, see ECF No. 1, followed two days later by a Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction, see ECF No. 4. After an expedited hearing on November 29, 2022, the Court denied the motion but gave Plaintiff leave to renew its motion for preliminary injunction. See Hearing Tr. at 12, ECF No. 10. Plaintiff did so on December 23, 1 In addition to DOL, Plaintiff names as defendants the Employment and Training Administration of DOL; the Wage and Hour Division of DOL; the Office of the Federal Register; Marty Walsh, in his official capacity as Secretary of Labor; Oliver Potts, in his official capacity as Director of the Office of the Federal Register; Brent Parton, in his official capacity as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Employment and Training Administration; and Jessica Looman, in her official capacity as Principal Deputy Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division (collectively, “Defendants”). 2022, see ECF No. 12, and that renewed motion is now ripe for consideration. For the reasons set forth below, the Court denies Plaintiff’s Renewed Motion for Preliminary Injunction. II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND The Immigration and Nationality Act provides for temporary work authorization for foreign agricultural workers under the H-2A program. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a); § 1184(c)(1). The H-2A program permits employers, referred to as labor contractors, to temporarily hire foreign workers upon a certification that “there are not sufficient workers who are able, willing, and qualified, and who will be available at the time and place needed, to perform the [relevant] labor or services” and that “the employment of the alien in such labor or services will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed.” § 1188(a)(1)(A)–(B). Once DOL certifies an employer’s petition, the employer can petition the Department of Homeland Security to designate foreign workers as H-2A workers. See Overdevest Nurseries v. Walsh, 2 F.4th 977, 980 (D.C. Cir. 2021). NCAE represents agricultural labor employers, including a large number of H-2A labor contractors. See Compl. ¶ 13, ECF No. 1. A. 2021 Rule Congress directed the Secretary of Labor to promulgate regulations to “set the parameters of the [H-2A] program.” Overdevest Nurseries, 2 F.4th at 980; 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H). Those regulations appear at 20 C.F.R. pts. 653, 655 and 29 C.F.R. pt. 501. Most of them were in place since 2010 (the “2010 status quo”) until DOL issued a notice of proposed …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals