Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Wagner-Peyser Program (Employment Services)
All Program-Specific Requirements provided for the WIOA core programs in this section must be addressed for either a Unified or Combined State Plan.
e. 1. Assessment of Need. Provide an assessment of the unique needs of farmworkers in the area based on past and projected agricultural and farmworker activity in the State. Such needs may include but are not limited to: employment, training, and housing.
Current Narrative:
MSFWs estimates in Louisiana are around 500 MSFWs in the agricultural industries. (This estimate does not include H-2A non-immigrant agricultural temporary workers.)
Louisiana’s farmworkers face many challenges as well as obstacles while searching for permanent employment. LWC through the American Job Centers (AJC) addresses and provides assistance with the following needs:
Transportation – lack of transportation to AJC’s and job sites. AJC’s staff coordinates with community and faith based organizations to provide temporary transportation to farmworkers.
State and Federal Laws – AJC staff, SMA, and outreach worker educate employers, farmworkers, and crew leaders on state and federal regulations during farm visits, housing inspections, and formal meetings. The AJC staff facilitates the use of the ES complaint System.
Housing – limited or inadequate. Louisiana’s agricultural job orders received in the past 4 years have been 100% agricultural job orders for H-2A workers.
Louisiana’s labor certification process for temporary agricultural employment in the U.S. continues to expand. More AGERs are turning to the H-2A program in order to find and maintain a secure labor force that will be able to plant, cultivate and harvest the agricultural commodities in the state.
In 2016, the AGERs requested and received approval for 8,301 agricultural jobs positions. During the past 4 years* the numbers have dramatically increased.
* Application for Temporary Employment Certification; Office of Foreign Labor Certification https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/oflc/pdfs/H-2A_Selected_Statistics
2019 10,816 H-2A Positions Certified
2020 11,332 H-2A Positions Certified
2021 12,473 H-2A Positions Certified
2022 13,770 H-2A Positions Certified
Louisiana’s office of foreign labor certification is expecting a 10% increase in the applications for temporary agricultural employment during this PY.