Congress moves to erase wage protections for farmworkers and H-2A visa holders

What it does

This resolution uses the Congressional Review Act to cancel a Department of Labor rule that set the methodology for calculating the 'Adverse Effect Wage Rate' — the minimum wage that employers must pay H-2A guest workers (temporary agricultural workers) to avoid depressing wages for American workers doing the same jobs. If this resolution passes, that wage-setting rule is nullified, meaning the wage floor for H-2A workers and the domestic workers competing with them would revert to a prior methodology or be left without a current standard. The primary beneficiaries of canceling this rule would be agricultural employers who hire H-2A workers, as they would likely face lower mandatory wage obligations.

Why we flagged it

This is a Congressional Review Act disapproval resolution that functionally deregulates the wage floor for H-2A agricultural guest workers by nullifying the Department of Labor's methodology rule, primarily benefiting agricultural employers.

What the text implies

• Nullifying the Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology rule does not automatically restore a prior rule — under the CRA, agencies are generally barred from issuing a 'substantially similar' rule without new congressional authorization, potentially leaving H-2A wage rates without a current federal methodology for an extended period.
• Domestic agricultural workers who compete with H-2A visa holders for jobs could see downward wage pressure if the wage floor protecting them is removed or left in limbo.
• Agricultural employers in states with large H-2A workforces (e.g., California, Florida, North Carolina) would see the most immediate cost relief, concentrating the financial benefit geographically.
• The rule being disapproved was published October 2, 2025 (90 Fed. Reg. 47914), suggesting it was a relatively recent regulatory update; its nullification could create uncertainty about which prior methodology, if any, governs pending H-2A applications.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Canceling the wage-rate methodology rule benefits agricultural employers by reducing mandatory wage obligations, but it removes a wage floor designed to protect both H-2A guest workers and domestic agricultural workers from wage depression — a concrete cost to those workers. The net effect depends on what methodology (if any) replaces it, making this a genuine trade-off.

Who stands to gain

• agricultural employers using H-2A guest workers
• farm labor contractors
• agribusiness operators

Named in the bill

Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, H-2A visa program, Senator Alex Padilla, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 90 Fed. Reg. 47914

Where it stands

• Mar 26, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Mar 26, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $10,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 4 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Alex Padilla, the sponsor, reported $176,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Ufw Foundation — $10,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.