117 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1188), the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), or the Mi-
grant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protec-
tion Act (29 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), not later 
than 60 days after the filing of proof of service 
of the complaint, a party to the lawsuit may file 
a request with the Federal Mediation and Con-
ciliation Service to assist the parties in reaching 
a satisfactory resolution of all issues involving 
all parties to the dispute. 
(C) NOTICE.—Upon filing a request under 
subparagraph (B) and giving of notice to the 
parties, the parties shall attempt mediation 
within the period specified in subparagraph 
(D), except that nothing in this paragraph shall 
limit the ability of a court to order preliminary 
injunctive relief to protect health and safety or 
to otherwise prevent irreparable harm. 
(D) 90-DAY
LIMIT.—The Federal Medi-
ation and Conciliation Service may conduct me-
diation or other nonbinding dispute resolution 
activities for a period not to exceed 90 days be-
ginning on the date on which the Federal Medi-
ation and Conciliation Service receives a request 
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118 
for assistance under subparagraph (B) unless 
the parties agree to an extension of such period. 
(E) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIA-
TIONS.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to clause 
(ii), there is authorized to be appropriated 
to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation 
Service, such sums as may be necessary for 
each fiscal year to carry out this subpara-
graph. 
(ii) 
MEDIATION.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, the Director of 
the Federal Mediation and Conciliation 
Service is authorized— 
(I) to conduct the mediation or 
other dispute resolution activities from 
any other account containing amounts 
available to the Director; and 
(II) to reimburse such account 
with amounts appropriated pursuant 
to clause (i). 
(F) PRIVATE
MEDIATION.—If all parties 
agree, a private mediator may be employed as 
an alternative to the Federal Mediation and 
Conciliation Service. 
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119 
(c) FARM LABOR CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) SURETY BONDS.— 
(A) REQUIREMENT.—Section 101 of the 
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Pro-
tection Act (29 U.S.C. 1811), is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) A farm labor contractor shall maintain a surety 
bond in an amount determined by the Secretary to be suf-
ficient for ensuring the ability of the farm labor contractor 
to discharge its financial obligations, including payment 
of wages and benefits to employees. Such a bond shall be 
available to satisfy any amounts ordered to be paid by the 
Secretary or by court order for failure to comply with the 
obligations of this Act. The Secretary of Labor shall annu-
ally publish in the Federal Register a schedule of required 
bond amounts that are determined by such Secretary to 
be sufficient for farm labor contractors to discharge finan-
cial obligations based on the number of workers to be cov-
ered.’’. 
(B) REGISTRATION
DETERMINATIONS.— 
Section 103(a) of the Migrant and Seasonal Ag-
ricultural Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 
1813(a)), is amended— 
(i) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or’’ 
at the end; 
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120 
(ii) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking 
‘‘or’’ at the end; 
(iii) in paragraph (6), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘;’’; and 
(iv) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(7) has failed to maintain a surety bond in 
compliance with section 101(e); or 
‘‘(8) has been disqualified by the Secretary of 
Labor from importing nonimmigrants described in 
section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act.’’. 
(2) SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST.— 
(A) DECLARATION.—Section 102 of the 
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Pro-
tection Act (29 U.S.C. 1812), is amended— 
(i) in paragraph (4), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in paragraph (5), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 
and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(6) a declaration, subscribed and sworn to by 
the applicant, stating whether the applicant has a 
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121 
familial, contractual, or employment relationship 
with, or shares vehicles, facilities, property, or em-
ployees with, a person who has been refused 
issuance or renewal of a certificate, or has had a 
certificate suspended or revoked, pursuant to section 
103.’’. 
(B) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—Section 
103 of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural 
Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1813), as 
amended by this Act, is further amended by in-
serting after subsection (a) the following new 
subsection (and by redesignating the subse-
quent subsections accordingly): 
‘‘(b)(1) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that 
an applicant for issuance or renewal of a certificate is not 
the real party in interest in the application if the appli-
cant— 
‘‘(A) is the immediate family member of any 
person who has been refused issuance or renewal of 
a certificate, or has had a certificate suspended or 
revoked; and 
‘‘(B) identifies a vehicle, facility, or real prop-
erty under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 102 that 
has been previously listed by a person who has been 
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122 
refused issuance or renewal of a certificate, or has 
had a certificate suspended or revoked. 
‘‘(2) An applicant described in paragraph (1) bears 
the burden of demonstrating to the Secretary’s satisfac-
tion that the applicant is the real party in interest in the 
application.’’. 
SEC. 205. REPORT ON WAGE PROTECTIONS. 
(a) Not later than 3 years after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the Sec-
retary of Labor and the Secretary of Agriculture shall pre-
pare and transmit to the Committees on the Judiciary of 
the House of Representatives and Senate, a report that 
addresses— 
(1) whether, and the manner in which, the em-
ployment of H–2A workers in the United States has 
impacted the wages, working conditions, or job op-
portunities of United States farm workers; 
(2) whether, and the manner in which, the ad-
verse effect wage rate increases or decreases wages 
on United States farms, broken down by geographic 
region and farm size; 
(3) whether any potential impact of the adverse 
effect wage rate varies based on the percentage of 
workers in a geographic region that are H–2A work-
ers; 
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123 
(4) the degree to which the adverse effect wage 
rate is affected by the inclusion in wage surveys of 
piece rate compensation, bonus payments, and other 
pay incentives, and whether such forms of incentive 
compensation should be surveyed and reported sepa-
rately from hourly base rates; 
(5) whether, and the manner in which, other 
factors may artificially affect the adverse effect wage 
rate, including factors that may be specific to a re-
gion, State, or region within a State; 
(6) whether, and the manner in which, the H– 
2A program affects the ability of United States 
farms to compete with agricultural commodities im-
ported from outside the United States; 
(7) the number and percentage of farmworkers 
in the United States whose incomes are below the 
poverty line; 
(8) whether alternative wage standards would 
be sufficient to prevent wages in occupations in 
which H–2A workers are employed from falling 
below the wage level that would have prevailed in the 
absence of the H–2A program; 
(9) whether any changes are warranted in the 
current methodologies for calculating the adverse ef-
fect wage rate and the prevailing wage; and 
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124 
(10) recommendations for future wage protec-
tion under this section. 
(b) In preparing the report described in subsection 
(a), the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Agri-
culture shall engage with equal numbers of representatives 
of agricultural employers and agricultural workers, both 
locally and nationally. 
SEC. 206. PORTABLE H–2A VISA PILOT PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 
the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Agri-
culture, shall establish through regulation a 6-year 
pilot program to facilitate the free movement and 
employment of temporary or seasonal H–2A workers 
to perform agricultural labor or services for agricul-
tural employers registered with the Secretary of Ag-
riculture. Notwithstanding the requirements of sec-
tion 218 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 
such regulation shall establish the requirements for 
the pilot program, consistent with subsection (b). 
For purposes of this section, such a worker shall be 
referred to as a portable H–2A worker, and status 
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125 
as such a worker shall be referred to as portable H– 
2A status. 
(2) ONLINE
PLATFORM.—The Secretary of 
Homeland Security, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Labor and the Secretary of Agriculture, 
shall maintain an online electronic platform to con-
nect portable H–2A workers with registered agricul-
tural employers seeking workers to perform tem-
porary or seasonal agricultural labor or services. 
Employers shall post on the platform available job 
opportunities, including a description of the nature 
and location of the work to be performed, the antici-
pated period or periods of need, and the terms and 
conditions of employment. Such platform shall allow 
portable H–2A workers to search for available job 
opportunities using relevant criteria, including the 
types of jobs needed to be filled and the dates and 
locations of need. 
(3) 
LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding 
the 
issuance of the regulation described in paragraph 
(1), the Secretary of State may not issue a portable 
H–2A visa and the Secretary of Homeland Security 
may not confer portable H–2A status on any alien 
until the Secretary of Homeland Security, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Sec-
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126 
retary of Agriculture, has determined that a suffi-
cient number of employers have been designated as 
registered agricultural employers under subsection 
(b)(1) and that such employers have sufficient job 
opportunities to employ a reasonable number of 
portable H–2A workers to initiate the pilot program. 
(b) PILOT PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The pilot program 
in subsection (a) shall contain the following elements: 
(1) 
REGISTERED
AGRICULTURAL
EMPLOY-
ERS.— 
(A) DESIGNATION.—Agricultural employ-
ers shall be provided the ability to seek designa-
tion as registered agricultural employers. Rea-
sonable fees may be assessed commensurate 
with the cost of processing applications for des-
ignation. A designation shall be valid for a pe-
riod of up to 3 years unless revoked for failure 
to comply with program requirements. Reg-
istered employers that comply with program re-
quirements may apply to renew such designa-
tion for additional periods of up to 3 years for 
the duration of the pilot program. 
(B) LIMITATIONS.—Registered agricultural 
employers may employ aliens with portable H– 
2A status without filing a petition. Such em-
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127 
ployers shall pay such aliens at least the wage 
required under section 218(d) of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(d)). 
(C) WORKERS’ COMPENSATION.—If a job 
opportunity is not covered by or is exempt from 
the State workers’ compensation law, a reg-
istered agricultural employer shall provide, at 
no cost to the worker, insurance covering injury 
and disease arising out of, and in the course of, 
the worker’s employment, which will provide 
benefits at least equal to those provided under 
the State workers’ compensation law. 
(2) DESIGNATED WORKERS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Individuals who have 
been previously admitted to the United States 
in H–2A status, and maintained such status 
during the period of admission, shall be pro-
vided the opportunity to apply for portable H– 
2A status. Portable H–2A workers shall be sub-
ject to the provisions on visa validity and peri-
ods of authorized stay and admission for H–2A 
workers described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of 
section 218(j) of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188(j) (2) and (3)). 
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128 
(B) LIMITATIONS
ON
AVAILABILITY
OF 
PORTABLE H–2A STATUS.— 
(i) INITIAL OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT 
REQUIRED.—No alien may be granted 
portable H–2A status without an initial 
valid offer of employment to perform tem-
porary or agricultural labor or services 
from a registered agricultural employer. 
(ii) NUMERICAL
LIMITATIONS.—The 
total number of aliens who may hold valid 
portable H–2A status at any one time may 
not exceed 10,000. Notwithstanding such 
limitation, the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity may further limit the number of 
aliens with valid portable H–2A status if 
the Secretary determines that there are an 
insufficient number of registered agricul-
tural employers or job opportunities to 
support the employment of all such port-
able H–2A workers. 
(C) SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT.—During the 
period of admission, a portable H–2A worker 
may perform temporary or seasonal agricultural 
labor or services for any employer in the United 
States that is designated as a registered agri-
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