Farmers would no longer be required to advertise for farm workers in the local newspaper in order to bring in migrant workers, if a proposal by the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security goes through. Under the proposed rule, farmers could advertise the jobs online instead. The move is an early step in reforms regarding H2-A visas for agricultural workers promised in May in a joint statement from the secretaries of Agriculture, Labor, State and Homeland Security.
It's common to see such newspaper ads in the public-notice or "legal ads" sections of rural and small-city newspapers in the late winter and spring. It allows farmers to say there were no or not enough local applicants for the jobs. The current rule requires "two print advertisements in a newspaper of general circulation serving the area of intended employment," one of them in a Sunday paper unless the jobs are "in a rural area that does not have a newspaper with a Sunday edition," in which case the ad goes "in the regularly published daily edition with the widest circulation in the area of intended employment."
"The problem with the old rule is that they felt compelled to use the largest daily—so the cost really was exorbitant," National Newspaper Association lobbyist Tonda Rush said in an email. She said NNA, the main lobby for rural newspapers, would file formal comments on the proposal. "Federal agencies don’t have much of a vision of the world outside the Beltway, as a rule," she said. "Rural newspapers are going to have to explain how the rest of the country works."
It's common to see such newspaper ads in the public-notice or "legal ads" sections of rural and small-city newspapers in the late winter and spring. It allows farmers to say there were no or not enough local applicants for the jobs. The current rule requires "two print advertisements in a newspaper of general circulation serving the area of intended employment," one of them in a Sunday paper unless the jobs are "in a rural area that does not have a newspaper with a Sunday edition," in which case the ad goes "in the regularly published daily edition with the widest circulation in the area of intended employment."
"The problem with the old rule is that they felt compelled to use the largest daily—so the cost really was exorbitant," National Newspaper Association lobbyist Tonda Rush said in an email. She said NNA, the main lobby for rural newspapers, would file formal comments on the proposal. "Federal agencies don’t have much of a vision of the world outside the Beltway, as a rule," she said. "Rural newspapers are going to have to explain how the rest of the country works."
The deadline for comment on the proposed rule is Dec. 10. Richard Karpel, executive director of the Public Notice Resource Center, said in an email that it "plans to file comment opposing this spectacularly misguided proposal. It’s amazing how the Labor Department managed to target the precise class of individuals — lower income people in rural areas — for whom newspaper notice is most vital."
The Federal Register summary says, "The departments are proposing to replace, rather than supplement, the newspaper requirements because they believe that exclusive electronic advertisements posted on a website appropriate for the workers likely to apply for the job opportunity in the area of intended employment would best ensure that U.S. workers learn of job opportunities." They say "a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center indicated that 79 percent of Americans research jobs online, whereas only 32 percent use 'ads in print publications,' and only 4 percent found ads in print publications to be the most useful tool in obtaining their recent employment. This trend is likely to continue as U.S. workers gain increased and more convenient access to the internet via smartphones and other digital devices,[4]and print newspaper circulation continues to decline."
The Federal Register summary says, "The departments are proposing to replace, rather than supplement, the newspaper requirements because they believe that exclusive electronic advertisements posted on a website appropriate for the workers likely to apply for the job opportunity in the area of intended employment would best ensure that U.S. workers learn of job opportunities." They say "a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center indicated that 79 percent of Americans research jobs online, whereas only 32 percent use 'ads in print publications,' and only 4 percent found ads in print publications to be the most useful tool in obtaining their recent employment. This trend is likely to continue as U.S. workers gain increased and more convenient access to the internet via smartphones and other digital devices,[4]and print newspaper circulation continues to decline."
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