Ditchmen • NUCA of Florida Ditchmen • August 2018 | Page 15

Workforce for an
Expanding Economy Act
Speaking of workforce,
Representatives Lloyd
Smucker (R-PA) and Francis
Rooney (R-FL) have just
introduced H.R. 6536, the
Workforce for an Expanding
Economy Act, which creates
a market-driven visa program
that would allow construction
businesses to hire legal
foreign guest workers to do
year-round work when they
cannot find cannot Americans
to fill these jobs.
To address workforce
shortages, the Workforce
for an Expanding Economy
Act (H.R. 6536) will create a
market-driven immigration
visa program targeted to
workers in occupations that
do not require a college
degree, otherwise defined
as “less-skilled,” to do year-
round, non-farm work. The bill
creates a two-track system
in which employers and
potential immigrant laborers
are both required to receive a
permit to work in the U.S. The
bill will require an employer
to apply to the federal
government for an approval
to hire an H-2D worker and
does not allow a worker
to enter the U.S. until they
have been affirmatively hired
by an employer who has
received approval from the
government to hire for that
position. These employees
are only ever allowed to work
for an approved employer,
at the approved location,
in the specific job that was
approved, and all employers
will be required to use
E-Verify.
How it works:
• Employers may only apply
if they operate in counties or
metropolitan areas where the
unemployment rate is 5% or
lower.
• If an employer establishes
that he/she is unable to hire a
U.S. worker after undergoing
the required market tests,
then they are granted a
3-year permit to hire an H-2D
worker into that position. They
may at any time also choose
to hire a U.S. worker for the
position.
• The H-2D worker receives
a visa under an entirely
separate process and must
wait outside the country
until they are hired through
the government-sponsored
online hiring system. Once
they enter the U.S. workforce,
they may work for any
approved U.S. employer in a
position with a current, valid
approval for the program.
• The program creates a
market-based cap on the
annual number of approved
employer positions. When
the economy slows, the
cap floats downward, but
when the economy speeds
up the cap can increase
to a maximum of 85,000
positions.
• Keeping in mind that these
are temporary work visas,
workers may only renew
their three-year visa twice
conditional to unemployment
rates.
• Employers must comply
with E-Verify.
•The program includes
a number of study
requirements to study the
program’s impact on wages
of U.S. workers, employment,
economic growth, use of
benefits and government
services, among other items.
• To strengthen workforce
protections, there is full
portability in the program
for both employers and
employees making it unique
from other current visa
programs.
• The legislation mandates
the creation of an electronic
tracking system that mirrors
the system currently used to
track student visa holders.
• Visa holders may NOT bring
family members with them
when they enter the U.S. to
participate in the program.
All visas issued are for the
purpose of filling workforce
shortages.
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AUGUST 2018 • DITCHMEN
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