AWI PROGRAMS
Alien Labor Certification
FAQ # 8: What do I do if my workers abscond (leave the job and work place without permission), have to return to their home, or the job ends early?
The United States Department of Labor (USDOL) and United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) regulations require that H-2A employers or their agents report when alien temporary agricultural workers imported using the H-2A Program
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Abscond (leave or abandon the job without permission), or
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The authorized employment ends more than five days before the relating certification document expires, including termination for cause.
Simply described, an absconding worker is a worker who leaves the employers work site without permission and does not return. The worker may have entered into an illegal alien status. Absconding workers often leave to work for employers in other locations or industries not authorized by the H-2A visa. The employer may or may not know the destination or location of the worker.
Other circumstances for abandonment of the job include arrest by a law enforcement agency, illness or incapacity, return to the workers home of origin, and other reasons.
USCIS requires that the employer report absconding or abandonment or termination within 24 hours of the worker leaving employment. USCIS provides H-2A employers specific information on how and when to report the loss of alien workers. USCIS reports must be filed in a timely fashion because sanctions and fines may be imposed by that agency.
USDOL Regulations require the employer to file a notice with the Agency for Workforce Innovation H-2A office, Tallahassee, FL, within two (2) business days of termination for cause of a worker, or within two (2) business days of discovering the abandonment or absconding from the job by a worker.
IMPORTANT: Timely reporting to the AWI H-2A office in Tallahassee, of termination for cause, abandonment or absconding by a worker is important. Proper reporting may relieve the employer of the responsibility to provide subsequent travel and subsistence expenses that might be due the worker, and the three quarters guarantee (if it has not already been met).
RELATED LINKS
Notification Regarding Worker Abandonment, Rejection or Termination from H-2A
Temporary Agricultural Employment United States Department of Labor/ Employment and Training Administration instruction letter.
