AUSTIN, Texas — Attorney General Ken Paxton and attorneys general from 14 other states have sued the U.S. Department of Labor over a new federal rule that awards foreign workers on non-immigrant visas more labor protections.
The rule called "Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States", was published April 29. It grants more protections for foreign workers on H-2A visas.
H-2A visas allow non-immigrant workers to come to the United States for seasonal agricultural labor.
Under the new rule, those workers are awarded more protections like the ability to unionize and requiring the use of seatbelts when transporting workers.
In a statement, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claims the new regulation violates the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. That federal law allows workers to unionize and collectively bargain but actively excludes agricultural laborers.
Paxton claims the DOL rule grants foreign workers more rights than American citizens.
“Joe Biden is using his bureaucratic machinery to favor immigrants who are in the country on temporary visas by unilaterally granting them rights that are not enjoyed by American citizens working in the same industry,” Paxton said in a release.
15 total states and three agricultural companies are involved in the lawsuit.
The final rule is scheduled to go into effect June 28.
