Editorial Note on Part 655
Editorial Note: Nomenclature changes to part 655 appear at 71 FR 35521, 35522, June 21, 2006.

§ 655.131 Agricultural association and joint employer filing requirements. ( a ) *Agricultural association filing requirements.* If an agricultural association files an *Application for Temporary Employment Certification,* in addition to complying with all the assurances, guarantees, and other requirements contained in this subpart and in part 653, subpart F, of this chapter, the following requirements also apply. ( 1 ) The agricultural association must identify in the *Application for Temporary Employment Certification* for H-2A workers whether it is filing as a sole employer, a joint employer, or an agent. The agricultural association must retain documentation substantiating the employer or agency status of the agricultural association and be prepared to submit such documentation in response to a NOD from the CO prior to issuing a Final Determination, or in the event of an audit or investigation.
( 2 ) The agricultural association may file a master application on behalf of its employer-members. The master application is available only when the agricultural association is filing as a joint employer. An agricultural association may submit a master application covering the same occupation or comparable work available with a number of its employer-members in multiple areas of intended employment, as long as the first dates of need for each employer-member named in the *Application for Temporary Employment Certification* are separated by no more than 14 calendar days and all places of employment are located in no more than two contiguous States. The agricultural association must identify in the *Application for Temporary Employment Certification* by name, address, total number of workers needed, period of employment, first date of need, and the crops and agricultural work to be performed, each employer-member that will employ H-2A workers.
( 3 ) An agricultural association filing a master application as a joint employer may sign the *Application for Temporary Employment Certification* on behalf of its employer-members. An agricultural association filing as an agent may not sign on behalf of its employer-members but must obtain each employer-member's signature on the *Application for Temporary Employment Certification* prior to filing.
( 4 ) If the application is approved, the agricultural association, as appropriate, will receive a Final Determination certifying the *Application for Temporary Employment Certification* in accordance with the procedures contained in § 655.162.
( b ) *Joint employer filing requirements.* ( 1 ) If an employer files an *Application for Temporary Employment Certification* on behalf of one or more other employers seeking to jointly employ H-2A workers in the same area of intended employment, in addition to complying with all the assurances, guarantees, and other requirements contained in this subpart and in part 653, subpart F, of this chapter, the following requirements also apply: ( i ) The *Application for Temporary Employment Certification* must identify the name, address, and the crop(s) and agricultural work to be performed for each employer seeking to jointly employ the H-2A workers;
( ii ) No single joint employer may employ an H-2A worker, or any combination of H-2A workers, for more than a total of 34 hours in any workweek; and
( iii ) The *Application for Temporary Employment Certification* must be signed and dated by each joint employer named in the application, in accordance with the procedures contained in § 655.130(e). By signing the *Application for Temporary Employment Certification,* each joint employer named in the application attests to the conditions of employment required of an employer participating in the H-2A program, and assumes full responsibility for the accuracy of the representations made in the *Application for Temporary Employment Certification* and for compliance with all of the assurances and obligations of an employer in the H-2A program at all times during the period the *Application for Temporary Employment Certification* is valid; and
( 2 ) If the application is approved, the joint employer who submits the *Application for Temporary Employment Certification* will receive, on behalf of the other joint employers, a Final Determination certifying the *Application for Temporary Employment Certification* in accordance with the procedures contained in § 655.162.