Trump Banned Many H-2B Workers But No More U.S. Workers Applied —Now He May Extend the Ban

David J. BierThe H-2B program allows nonagricultural  employers to hire foreign workers when they cannot find U.S. workers to perform temporary jobs. Since 2014, employers have repeatedly hit the H-2B cap of 66,000 visas, so Congress has repeatedly authorized the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to permit workers to enter above the cap. DHS refu sed to allow any additional workers to enter above the cap after the unemployment rate spiked in March.In June, President Trump went even further by banning many H-2B workers until the end of this year, which caused visas under the cap to be wasted. Now Trumpis considering extending the H-2B ban into 2021. This is a  bad idea. The ban was supposed to free up jobs for U.S. workers, but government data show that almost no U.S. workers applied for H-2B jobs, despite the spike in unemployment.As I  pointed out at the time, it made no sense to ban H-2B workers because every H-2B job must be offered to U.S. workers first. The Department of Labor (DOL) oversees U.S. worker recruitment under the H-2B program, and it will not certify an employer to hire H-2B workers unless it determines thatthere“are not sufficient U.S. workers who are qualified and who will be available” for the job.Starting 90  days prior to the job start date, DOL requires that employers request that State Workforce Agencies refer U.S. workers (including those on unemployment insurance) to them. DOL advertises the job onan online site. All jobs must pay an infl...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs