Farmers no longer have to publish ads for seasonal jobs in newspapers before they can hire foreign workers

Starting in October, farmers will no longer have to publish ads for seasonal workers in newspapers before they're allowed to hire foreign workers. Under the new rule, finalized Friday by the Department of Labor, farmers can instead post jobs to the department's newly overhauled job registry website," Katie Dehlinger reports for DTN/The Progressive Farmer.

"The agency says the updated website is mobile-friendly, compatible with third-party job-search websites and will make it easier for Americans to find and fill open jobs," Dehlinger reports. "It also gives state workforce agencies greater ability to promote awareness of H-2A job opportunities."

The National Newspaper Association and more than 500 newspapers filed objections to the rule when it was first proposed, saying that it's cheaper and yields better results when farmers advertise in local papers that reach nearby potential workers. The NNA noted in its complaint that ads in small-town papers are much less costly than those at the major metropolitan dailies the government studied in their research.