Sponsors (3)
The bill expands and clarifies access to H‑2B labor and strengthens worker protections and program transparency, but it imposes substantial new compliance costs, administrative complexity, and discretionary exclusion/penalty risks that could reduce labor availability or increase competition for U.S. seasonal jobs.
H-2B employers (especially in rural and seasonal industries) gain clearer and expanded access to temporary foreign labor because certain rural/seasonal positions are exempted from the statutory cap and caps are tied to actual DOL-certified demand; employers may also hire nationals from non-listed countries when no eligible workers exist from listed countries.
H-2B workers (and low-income/limited-English employees) receive stronger protections — required written safety instructions (in common languages), anti‑harassment/anti‑retaliation procedures, bans on recruiter fees, and new remedies (wage recovery, damages, and an extended complaint window) — improving workplace safety and reducing exploitation.
Program integrity and transparency are strengthened for employers, workers, and agencies through DOL verification to DHS, recruiter disclosure requirements, interagency information‑sharing and public statistics, standardized metrics, and publication of eligible source-country lists — improving enforcement targeting and accountability.
Employers face substantially higher compliance and penalty costs (new fines, recordkeeping, translation and plan requirements, recruiter-monitoring and possible reimbursement rules), which can raise business costs, be passed to consumers, or reduce hiring—especially harming small employers.
U.S. workers in seasonal industries may face increased competition and downward pressure on jobs if more positions are filled by H‑2B workers due to expanded exemptions or flexible sourcing rules.
Stronger enforcement, penalties, and country exclusions could reduce actual H‑2B availability (through disqualification, country bans, or employer reluctance), risking service disruptions, lost business, or fewer seasonal hires in affected communities.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Reforms the H‑2B program by tying the cap to prior‑year DOL certifications, exempting certain rural/seasonal jobs, banning worker recruitment fees, requiring safety plans, and strengthening enforcement and penalties.
Introduced February 25, 2026 by John Bergman · Last progress February 25, 2026
Changes how the H‑2B temporary nonimmigrant worker program is run: it ties the annual H‑2B cap to the number of DOL-certified positions from the prior year, creates a permanent cap exemption for certain rural and seasonal jobs, increases employer-facing civil penalties, and strengthens worker protections and program enforcement. The bill also requires employers to keep written worksite safety and compliance plans, bans employer or recruiter fees paid by workers, requires disclosure of foreign recruiters, imposes timely employer reporting to DHS about worker no‑shows/terminations, and directs DHS to publish an annual list of countries whose nationals are eligible for H‑2B petitions.