Background:  The H-2B guest worker program assures that foreign workers are legally and properly documented.  The landscape industry, which is continually growing, continues to attempt to find viable employees to keep up with its growth, but this persistently become more challenging.  Proper documentation is a vital part of the screening and hiring of quality employees to fill the required positions.  The positions being filled by these temporary and seasonal workers are those that employers have attempted to fill with American workers through traditional means, including newspaper advertisements, internet advertisements, job fairs, employment agencies, word-of-mouth, etc.  Unable to fill the positions with American workers, the industry has turned to the H-2B guest worker program in order to fill the void with legal, documented employees.  Without the program, we will see American workers, who hold full-time permanent positions with their employers, face the possibility of lay-off, as the employer must now reduce the work he or she can take on due to the lack of a workforce.

The H-2B guest worker program gives American businesses qualified employees on a temporary or seasonal basis and allows employers to adhere to all laws.  The viability of the landscape industry depends on the H-2B program with its returning worker exemption, thereby providing sufficient labor for the many industries utilizing this program.

The New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association (NJLCA) will support legislation that provides employer’s access to a reasonable number of workers in order to continue to operate landscape businesses.  Legislation such as the H-2B guest worker program, with an increase to the current cap or continuation of the return worker exemption would be a vital step in correcting the issues facing American employers.  Furthermore, legislation similar to that worded in HR 1843 or S 988 is an immediate requirement to meet the labor needs.  The H-2B guest worker program is thus far the most reliable source of documented, seasonal, visa-holding non-immigrant workers who fit our labor needs.  The NJLCA strongly supports legislation that extends the H-2B program and vigorously opposes any legislation that limits or eliminates it, and causes undue economic burdens on American employers.