Today Judge Danny Reeves of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of Labor’s recently adopted H-2A “worker protection” rules.

WAFLA, along with several agricultural associations and individual farmers, filed the lawsuit, Barton v. DOL, and sought a preliminary injunction to stop DOL from enforcing its new rules.

The injunction granted by the judge provides relief to the plaintiffs in this case, including the members of the plaintiff associations. This means all WALFA members as of today are covered by the injunction.

Rather than striking down the entire rule, the judge enjoined only parts of the final rule based on what we specifically challenged and referenced in our motion. As a result, the enjoined provisions are:

• The rights related to collective bargaining
• The mandatory piece-rate pay
• The seatbelt requirement
• The personal information requirement
• The public access to employer property

We are now waiting to hear from DOL what steps the agency will take in light of this ruling coupled with the effect of lawsuits in other jurisdictions across the country.

We will share more about this lawsuit and injunction soon. The opinion can be read here.